The Night You Promised
by adriankiserinagy
Summary: He had made up his mind. He had thought about it the night before after Gwen had left their place. He knew it was reckless and irresponsible of him but being Spider-Man was too big of a burden for him to carry it alone. THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN MOVIEVERSE
1. Chapter One

As Peter entered the classroom he could feel all eyes turn to him. All but one pair of eyes. He kept his head low as he made his way to his desk because he didn't want to look at her face. He didn't want to see the hurt in her eyes knowing it was his fault she felt that way.

_I can't see you anymore. _

The words, _his _words, echoed in his head. He remembered how she looked at him when those deadly words left his mouth. He remembered fighting tears as she slowly turned around to leave. He wanted to reach out and grab her arm, he wanted to pull her close and never let go. Instead, he just stood there on the porch and watched her walk away in the pouring rain. He stayed there as long as he could hear the sound of raindrops hitting her umbrella but the noise soon faded away and Peter went back into the house.

"Mr. Parker. Tardy again." He heard his teacher as he made his way to his desk strictly observing his feet on the way. "Well, at least we can always count on you."

Peter reached his desk and lifted his backpack off of his shoulders.

"I'm sorry, Ms. Ritter, it won't happen again, I promise." He answered without looking at his teacher. No emotion could be discovered in his voice as he took his seat behind the blonde girl.

"Don't make promises you can't keep, Mr. Parker."

Peter leaned forward so she could almost feel his breath on the back of her neck as he whispered. His voice was only loud enough for the closest person to hear.

"Yeah, but those are the best kind."

He had made up his mind. He had thought about it the night before after Gwen had left their place. He knew it was reckless and irresponsible of him but being Spider-Man was too big of a burden for him to carry it alone. He had to feel someone next to him; he had to know that there was someone who could help him through the hardest times. And he wanted to do the same for her. Now that her father passed away she needed him more than ever and he knew it. He loved Gwen and couldn't think about living his life without her.

* * *

Gwen was hurt, angry and felt let down. She mourned her father's death and she was angry at Peter for breaking up with her. It was hard for her to cope with her sudden loss of her dad and the one person who could help her get through it wouldn't talk to her. She knew it was her father's wish for Peter to stay away from her but it was not his decision to make. It was but hers and Peter took it away from her. She loved Peter and wanted to be with him but he wouldn't let her and there was nothing she could do about it. Still, when Peter's words reached her ears, all the pain, all the anger she felt suddenly disappeared and the same warmth filled her heart that she felt every time she was with Peter. She smiled for the first time since her father's death and she knew everything was going to be alright.

Gwen was relieved when the bell indicating the end of class rang. She didn't pay as much attention to the teacher as she usually would and it made time pass a lot slower. In the end of class she quickly closed her books and put them back into her backpack. Before she had left the classroom she turned back toward Peter.

"So how about those pro-" she started but Peter's desk was already empty. Her smile dissolved and a disappointed sigh left her mouth.

"Why am I not surprised?" She asked herself as she turned around and headed for the door.

Gwen couldn't see Peter as she passed by his locker but it didn't surprise her. There must have been something that asked for Spider-Man's assistance, she thought. She often wondered how Peter could still get such good marks in school when he spent a lot of time swinging through the city as Spider-Man, missing his classes. Although she couldn't find an answer to her question, it was just another reason why she had fallen in love with Peter Parker.

She opened her locker and took out her biology book for next class when she felt her phone vibrate in her pocket which meant she'd gotten a text message. She took her cell into her hand to see Peter's name appear on the screen.

_Your room at 7:00 pm. _

It was a short message but just long enough for her to let hope back into her heart. At least you're willing to talk to me, she thought. Gwen stuffed her cell back into her pocket and headed to biology class.

"Peter Parker, you're full of surprises today."

* * *

Peter was swinging between the skyscrapers of Manhattan toward Gwen's apartment. He didn't bother putting on his Spider-Man suit and even though it still wasn't dark yet he was high enough so that nobody could see his face. He loved swinging in the city. The fresh air brushing his face gave him a sensation he couldn't compare to anything. He felt absolute freedom in the air; he was totally in control of everything up there. He was glad he had already been able to share some of that experience with Gwen. He wanted her to be everything he was and even though he knew it was impossible, he still did everything in his power to share every bit of his life with her.

_Leave Gwen out of it._

He couldn't erase these words from his mind, though. No matter how hard he tried, whatever decisions he made, someone he loved always got hurt. If he continued to see Gwen he would break his promise to Captain Stacy and if he abided by his promise he would hurt Gwen. There was no right choice in this matter. The question was which one of the two meant more to Peter. He had made his choice, he had chosen to love.

Peter landed on the metal platform of the fire escape with a thud. He peeked through the window of Gwen's room and saw her lying in her bed with a book in her hands. She looked so peaceful that Peter could just stay there outside her window and watch her the entire night. But they needed to talk so he knocked on the glass of the window. She turned toward his direction and laid down the book beside her. Peter could see a smile on her face that he hadn't seen in a very long time. Gwen waved her hand for Peter to get inside so he slid the window open and hopped inside the room.

"Hi," he said smiling.

"It's only six forty. You texted me to meet at seven." Gwen pointed out, teasing him.

"I'm sorry. I can come back later if you want." Peter decided to play along, pointing at the open window behind him.

"It's not necessary. We can just finish twenty minutes early." She offered and stood up from her bed, facing him.

Peter put his backpack down beside Gwen's red armchair and took a few steps toward her until they were only a couple of inches away. They were still smiling at each other but they both knew the game was over.

"How you holding up?" Peter asked, unsure of what he should say. The choice of subject made both of their smiles fade from their faces.

"I'm fine. Been better but fine." She answered and for a moment Peter could see the hurt in her eyes again.

There was a short pause in the conversation. They just stood there, staring at each other, speaking without words. The few inches between them were like an ocean.

"Back in the classroom," Gwen finally broke the silence. "What did you mean by it?"

Peter sighed. It was the moment he was so afraid of. Whatever he said now would define their relationship forever. There would be no turning back from then. He took one last deep breath before he spoke.

"I'm sorry I wasn't there for you during the past days." Peter said instead of answering her question.

"No, it's ok. You made a promise; it's understandable you want to keep it." Gwen said not really trying to hide sarcasm from her voice.

"Gwen, you know it's not like that." He couldn't finish because the girl cut him off.

"Why are you here anyway?" She crossed her arms in front of her.

"I'm here to apologize. What I did to you wasn't fair. I pushed you away without asking what you wanted."

She took a couple of seconds to choose the right words to say.

"I want to be with you." Her voice cracked as she saw the guilt in his eyes. "It's all I want right now, Peter."

"I couldn't forgive myself if something happened to you." Peter said as if he didn't hear her words. "I couldn't survive losing you."

Her hands fell down beside her body as she took a step toward him. "So don't push me away then."

She reached out and took his hands in hers. Peter drove his gaze down to their entwined fingers then back to her beautiful eyes that were now shining with tears. His heart ached to see her like that and all he wanted was to make her feel better.

"I've tried. I've really tried to…to cut you out of my life but every time I see you in school and I know I can't be with you, it just…it breaks my heart. And I know it's selfish but I...I need you, Gwen."

It was all she needed to hear from him. She took a step toward him, letting herself get lost in the entrancing shade of his beautiful brown eyes. She didn't say a word, she knew that they were past talking. Peter slowly leaned forward to close the gap between them and she closed her eyes waiting for their lips to meet and erase the rest of the world around them.

The sudden sound of police sirens broke the perfect moment. Peter didn't want to pay attention to them but he knew he had to. It was not choice, it was responsibility. He slowly pulled away from her but when he was about to turn around and leave he felt her hand grab his arm, keeping him from leaving.

"Gwen, I must go." He said regretfully, turning around to face her.

She lifted her head and their eyes met once again.

"Be safe, please." Her voice was almost inaudible.

"I will." He said and sent her a reassuring smile. She returned it in a weaker form and then in just a few moments Peter was out on the fire escape again. Gwen watched as he shot a biocable and leaped off of the building into the air. After he had disappeared, she stood there motionlessly for a few seconds then closed the window and laid back into her bed with her book in her hands.

* * *

Peter followed the police cruisers from above. From the number of cars that were mobilized, Peter knew it wasn't just a grocery store robbery. This'd better be a case worth leaving my girl for, he thought while landing on a rooftop. He changed into his suit and placed his backpack carefully to a less visible part of the roof. He checked which direction the police were going then he pushed himself into the air and reached for the triangular jib of the tower crane next to the building. He shot two biocables toward the end of the working arm and then propelled himself out of the jib, into the air. Peter swung into a narrow alley and made his way through it moving acrobatically between the balconies of the fire escapes and the clotheslines that were attached across the air. Once he had gotten out of the alley he descended to a lower height so that the police knew that they could count on the help of Spider-Man.

* * *

So um...this is my first story here. I'll be trying to update every second day but I can't promise anything. It also depends on how many of you like the story. So, yeah. :)


	2. Chapter Two

A few blocks away from where Peter had left his backpack the police cars stopped in front of what seemed like an office building. Peter landed on the huge glass panels forming the walls above the entrance door so that he could hear what the police officers were saying hoping he could get some useful information about the case. He was careful not to be seen; he knew he was still wanted by the police for whatever he had done. He knew it was Captain Stacy who had initiated the arrest but even with the new captain in charge he was still on the police's wanted list.

"Which floor did they break in to?" One of the blue suited men asked as he caught up to the officers who had already been standing at the entrance.

"Level twenty-one. The alarm came from the office of that film studio."

A film studio? This is getting interesting, Peter thought and returned his attention to the conversation.

"How many were there?"

"We don't know. Nobody has seen the robbers leave."

"Do you have any information on what was taken?" Considering the kinds of questions he was asking, this officer must have been the one in charge.

"Not yet. They said there were mostly documents in the office."

"Thank you, officer. Let's go, boys."

_Yes, sir_, Peter thought as if the order was for him too and he pushed himself up in the air toward level twenty-one. As he reached the right floor, luckily there was an open window where Peter could get inside the building without having to break the glass risking another bunch of cuts and unnecessary attention.

The room was empty as Peter crawled inside. The lights were off and he needed a couple of seconds for his eyes to get used to the dark. He knew it wasn't the room he needed, so once he could see the silhouettes of the furniture he made his way through the place to the exit. The door was locked as he had expected but as he produced the necessary strength he could break the lock and turn the doorknob.

Peter quickly made his way out of the dark room to the well lit corridor, hoping that no workers would see him. The corridor was empty so he looked around checking the doors of the other rooms expecting to get some indication of which one could be the film studio he needed. He wanted to get there before the police did.  
To Peter's left there were only three more rooms and none of them had a plate that read any kind of studio so he turned to the other direction. He followed as the corridor turned left and he had passed another five or six doors before he saw a shining cold plate on the wall.

_Wonder Studios_, the carved letters read.

"Gotcha." Peter said and turned the knob. He wasn't surprised when the knob obeyed the movement of his hand. He stepped in the room and didn't bother searching for the light switch as the moon gave enough light for him to see what he had to see. He knew he didn't have much time before the police arrived so he quickly scanned the ground for evidence but nothing seemed to be out of place. If he hadn't known, Peter couldn't have told that somebody broke into that office.

As he carried his sight across the room he could see an office table in front of the windows which seemed a good point to start with. Peter closed the door behind him and made his way through the room to the table. He found some papers on the desk that seemed like contracts of some sort and there was a folder beside the papers with a 'script' label on it. As he took a look inside the folder he could hear voices coming from the hallway and though they were still too far for Peter to understand the words they spoke he knew they were police officers headed his way.

"Come on, Parker," he hurried himself, threw the script back on the table without putting it back in the folder and moved on. He drove his gaze through the room once again and this time he spotted something that had so far avoided his attention. There was a box carelessly thrown in the corner behind a file drawer that certainly didn't belong there. He quickly moved to the drawer and lifted the box from the ground. He took a swift look toward the drawer and saw the empty space inside of it indicating where the box in his hands had been taken out from. It could easily have been just an accident and it might have had to do nothing with anything but it was the only thing that seemed out of place in the office so considering it was his best shot he took a look. At first sight it seemed empty but as Peter took a closer look he could see a black folder at the bottom. The voices on the corridor were getting very close and Peter knew he had no time to check the content of the folder so he laid the box down on the table, next to the script he had found earlier. The moment he stepped away from the table to look for more evidence the door flew open behind him and a team of police officers stormed into the room.

"Hands in the air!" Peter heard the command and as he turned around he could see four men, each pointing a gun at him.

"I'm not the bad guy here," Peter tried to buy himself some time as he slowly moved back toward the table with his hands lifted up above his head. He knew the officers wouldn't agree but it was the first thing that came to his mind. "I'm just trying to help."

As he had expected, it didn't seem to touch any of the officers' heart as they took a step toward Peter without lowering their guns.

"Spiderman, you're under arrest. You have the righ-"

"Sorry chief, I'm outta here." Peter said impudently and swung into action.

He quickly shot four strings of webbing toward the officers, straight into their faces so they couldn't see anything. Two of them reached for their eyes trying to free themselves from the webs, while the other two blindly fired their guns at Peter but he dodged the bullets. He shot a web toward the box on the table and pulled it into his hand. He took the folder out of it and then threw the box through the window behind him causing a loud crash with it.

_So much for unnecessary attention_, Peter thought. He could hear the officers shouting behind him still trying to free their faces but he didn't pay much attention. He took a few steps toward the broken window, gathering the necessary momentum and pushed himself off of the ground and flew across the hole he had created, leaving the struggling officers alone in the room.

"Woohoo!" Peter screamed as he shot a web onto a nearby building and flew across the air only a few feet above the heads of the pedestrians on the street. The reinforcement must have arrived in the office because he could hear the sound of another couple of gunshots but he had already been out of range and there wasn't even a slight chance of getting shot.

* * *

It still wasn't too late when Peter got home so luckily he didn't have to make up a story as an explanation where he had been.

"Hey, Aunt May," he said smiling as he made his way into the living room.

"Hi, honey. How was your day?" His aunt asked. She was sitting in her armchair watching some kind of show on TV.

"Good, it was good." Peter responded quickly and headed for the stairs.

"Dinner's ready in twenty minutes." Aunt May called after him but he had already been on top of the stairs.

"Alright," he shouted back and Aunt May could hear him snap the door of his room closed behind him.

Once he was in his room Peter took the newly acquired folder into his hands and threw his backpack on the floor next to the bookshelf. He dropped into his chair and pulled himself to the table. He clicked the light on and inspected the folder, turning it back over and then back in his hands, searching for some kind of label, but the folder was an utterly simple black colored one.

_Okay_, Peter thought and opened the folder to check its content. There were sheets of papers pinned inside, most of them the same kinds of scripts as the one he had found in the studio's office. He scrolled through the documents but all seemed to be the same. He was about to give up and throw the folder into the trash when he reached the last page which, to his greatest content, was quite different from the others. It was a personal data sheet with a photo of a man in the top right corner. As he examined the photo Peter could tell the man was probably in his thirties, but there was nothing distinctive in his face, he looked like the average American. He moved his sight from the photo and checked the list of information which wasn't long and after reading it turned out to not have any suspicious piece in it, actually nothing interesting at all.

**Name: Beck, Quentin  
Birth date: November 16, 1979  
Birth place: New York, NY  
Citizenship: American  
Occupation: Stuntman, special effects designer  
Status: Dismissed**

It wasn't of much help and after he had run through it once more Peter was almost sure that it was just a coincidence that he had found this useless folder. He went back to the photo of the man trying to recall a memory of him but he came to the conclusion that Quentin Beck was totally unfamiliar to him.

Peter turned back to the first page of the document to see what kind of a script it was and it turned out to be the screenplay of some sort of action movie. Peter started reading and among the names of other crew members he learned that the special effects designer for that movie would have been Beck but according to the sheet the movie had been cancelled before the start of filming. He was about to skip to the next page when he heard Aunt May call from the kitchen.

"Dinner's ready!"

Peter decided to continue with the content of the folder after dinner so he dropped it on his desk and jumped out of the chair heading toward the kitchen. He wasn't sure if it was his job to investigate and knew that the police must have been doing a better job at it but still he decided to take another look at the supposed evidence after dinner.

He stormed into the kitchen where Aunt May had already been waiting for him at the table. He laid a quick kiss on her face before he sat down and they started eating.

"Why the sudden enthusiasm?" She asked, confused but happy for Peter's behavior. The past couple of days she hadn't seen Peter smile and it seriously bothered her. She had wanted to ask him about it but she wasn't sure whether he would answer and decided not to push it.

"It's about that girl, isn't it? The one you were talking to yesterday." She guessed before he could have opened his mouth to answer.

"Her name is Gwen." Peter said with his mouth full. He didn't like her to be referred to as 'the girl'. "And yes."  
Aunt May's smile widened.

"I knew you weren't going to let her go. I saw the way you looked at her."

She didn't know that Peter had never wanted to let her go but he just couldn't tell Aunt May about him being Spiderman and couldn't tell her how difficult it had been to choose staying with her. He still had doubts about whether he had chosen the right thing but he was desperate to prove himself right.

"It was the right thing to do." Aunt May told him as if she were reading his his mind. She could see something was bothering Peter.

_I hope you're right_, Peter thought but stayed silent and they both continued eating. His aunt played a huge role in changing his mind about Gwen, whether she knew it or not.

They didn't bring up the subject again during dinner, instead they had a casual conversation. Aunt May told him about her day and Peter told her about his, leaving the sensitive parts untouched. It was the kind of family night they had both needed for a long time.


	3. Chapter Three

Peter was used to staying up late so when next day he woke up in the morning he didn't feel any more tired than after any night when he was on patrol in the city as Spiderman. He had found nothing in the movie script to go on and thought that he might have better luck in the city so he put on his mask and left through the window.

During classes Peter didn't pay much attention, he was either playing with his pencils, spinning them between his fingers as if they were drumsticks or was sleeping with his head laid on his arms. When they happened to have the same class he often cast a glance toward Gwen and sometimes he even caught her looking at him and then they would share a smile, the kind of smile they kept for each other.

"Interesting." Peter could read on Gwen's lips one time he caught her gaze. She was pointing at the teacher who was writing some equation on the board, trying to convince Peter to pay attention.

"Already know." Peter mouthed the words to Gwen. He might have lied a little bit but he really already knew most of the subject and the part he didn't know didn't seemed too interesting either. He could easily fill the gaps at home anyway.

"Of course you do," she responded sarcastically and turned back to the board. Peter's head fell back on his arms and from then he couldn't recall the rest of class.

The bell for lunch break finally rang and the noise of hungry children heading toward the cafeteria filled the hallway. Peter joined the crowd and just let the stream of students take him down the stairs. There was a good twenty feet long row to the counter when Peter arrived but he had no other choice than to pick himself a tray and stand in the line. As he got lost in his thoughts his turn came much faster than he had previously expected.

Peter took a burger with fries and a can of coke to go with. There usually were two or three menus to choose from but today was one of those days when burger was best he could get. He walked to an empty table; he wasn't quite in need of company. He took the first bite when he spotted someone from the corner of his eye closing in on the table he was sitting at. He turned his head in that direction to see one Flash Thompson standing next to him with his own tray in his hands.

"You uh...mind if I join you?" Flash asked to Peter's greatest surprise. Though Flash had been past bullying him they still weren't that close friends to sit at the same table in the cafeteria. Flash usually hung out with his own group of friends and that applied to the lunch period as well.

"I guess so," Peter answered with a fair amount of uncertainty in his voice.

"Cool." Flash said glibly and took a seat across Peter. He had spaghetti on his plate which certainly looked better than the burger but Peter had already had enough of spaghetti for at least a month.

For a few seconds an uncomfortable silence settled on the table but it seemed to be Flash who was more bothered by it as he finally spoke. "So, how's it going?"

Peter looked up from his plate, confused.

"How's _what_ going?" He asked back and stuffed a fry into his mouth. Flash was only picking at his spaghetti but so far hadn't lifted the fork to his mouth.

"Um, I don't know, school for example." Clearly, Peter wasn't the only one feeling uncomfortable at the table.

"Good, I guess." Peter answered briefly and took a sip of the coke.

"Good, then."

Peter didn't like awkward conversations and he could tell by the smell of it that the one they were having belonged to that sort.

"What do you want, Flash?" He asked with his mouth full of a piece of burger. There must have been a reason Flash sat down opposite him and the sooner he found out, the sooner they could get away from the inconvenient situation. Flash was still just pushing around his spaghetti on his plate but finally he put the fork down and his face turned more serious.

"Alright. I uh, just wanted to ask you about something."

"Go ahead." Peter told him. He was starting to get curious about what could that certain subject be that Flash had to ask him about.

"You remember that we had to fill in a questionnaire about our plans of later studies and possible future jobs, right?"

Peter just nodded and let him continue.

"Well, I was thinking about skipping college and, uh," Flash nervously chuckled. "I was thinking about joining the army."

The army, Peter thought, surprised but impressed at the unexpected statement. There were definitely a number of possible outcomes of the conversation Peter had envisioned but that idea surely wasn't one of them. Flash was strong and everything but his morale was just not the kind that would justify a decision like this. "Why so?"

"Actually, it was Spiderman that inspired me." Flash lowered his voice as he explained. He clearly seemed to be embarrassed about it. He sent a weak smile to Peter, afraid of how he might react but Peter admired Flash for telling _him _about it as it seemed to be definitely a sensitive point for him.

"Spiderman, huh?" No matter how hard Peter tried he couldn't help a smile appear in the corners of his mouth. For a moment he wanted to tell Flash his secret and was wondering how that would change things between the two of them.

"Yeah. I know you probably think I'm crazy, but that guy is amazing. He knows he has a price on his head and still he goes out there and saves people risking being caught. And on top of all he does this without wanting any reward. I want to help him protect this country and the army is the only place where I can do that."

Peter saw the admiration on Flash's features and heard the desperation in his voice and for a swift moment he wasn't sure if it was really Flash Thompson sitting across him. He sounded a lot different than he had before but Peter knew he had changed for the better.

"Well, that is impressive." Peter voiced his earlier thought and nodded encouragingly.

"Thanks." Flash said and a relieved sigh left his mouth.

"But why tell me?" Peter pulled his eyebrows together. It was all great seeing Flash's new attitude but he didn't understand the reason why he had told _him_ about it.

"The guys would totally think I'm crazy and would probably make fun of me but I wanted to ask somebody if this was a good idea and you're a good guy Parker, I was hoping you'd understand." Flash explained.

"Well, I'm not sure how to say it," Peter started and saw a small hint of worry on Flash's features. "But the idea is admirable and if this is what you want to do, you should do it."

Flash relaxed and a friendly smile appeared on his face. He opened his mouth to say something but then suddenly cast a swift look above Peter's shoulder and he just said, "I have to go now."

Flash took his tray and stood up, heading toward the exit. He took one step then paused, turning his back to Peter. "But if you tell anyone, I swear I'm going to beat the shit out of you, Parker."

Peter pressed his lips together and sent him a reassuring nod. When Flash was sure Peter had gotten the message he patted his shoulder and turned to exit the cafeteria.

"Who would have thought," Peter mumbled and took another bite of his sandwich.

"Thought what?" He heard the familiar tone of voice from behind him. In a brief second Gwen walked up to him and took a seat across the table.

"Nothing." Peter quickly denied. It wasn't that he was afraid of Flash that he would really beat him because he was almost sure he wouldn't but Flash came to tell him this because he trusted him and Peter didn't want to give betray that trust.

"Never mind." Gwen dropped the subject, uninterested in whatever Peter and Flash had been talking about. She was clearly more excited about something else. She put a folded newspaper on the table, placed her index finger on it and slowly pushed it in front of Peter. "I found this in the morning. Check it out."

Peter cast a questioning look at her and then drove his gaze to the paper. It was the latest issue of the Daily Bugle. Peter searched for something exciting that Gwen could have been talking about but only a car accident was on the front page that caught his attention.

Peter looked up at Gwen once again and simply asked, "What?"

She didn't answer, just pointed at the paper in front of him. He wanted to tell her to quit playing but gave her one last chance and followed the direction her finger was aimed and he saw an advertisement that had avoided his attention the first time.

**REWARD FOR PHOTOS OF SPIDER-MAN**

"This is your perfect chance." Gwen told him when she saw he had found the advertisement. She was smiling proudly as if she had just told him the lottery numbers.

"You love taking photos, and you're definitely a great photographer. And besides, you have an unfair advantage that will totally land you the job."

Peter examined the advertisement, reading the words over and over again. He wanted to tell Gwen that he had already tried to take photos of himself as Spiderman but thought better of it.

"So, what do you think?" Gwen asked as she was growing impatient at Peter's inability to say anything.

"Well, it might not be a bad idea." He finally took his eyes off of the paper. Her face lightened up even more at his response. She laid her hands on the table and entwined her fingers and that way she looked like a fourth grader who proudly acknowledged that she was the first to finish the given exercise.

"Of course it's not. You'll see." She said, still delighted. She took a fry from Peter's tray and slowly lifted it to her mouth and took a passionate bite.

"That was sexy, you know." Peter admitted, smiling.

She continued teasing and gave him one of her seductive winks. Peter wanted to lean forward and kiss her but the cafeteria wasn't the right place to do so.

"So, are you free tonight?" He asked with a soft voice, already gathering some ideas.

Her smile disappeared and she looked at him apologetically. "I'm sorry. I'm going to have a biology test tomorrow and I have to study for that."

"Are you serious? You'd prefer learning over me?" Peter asked, trying to guilt trip her into spending the night with him.

"Well, in this case, yes. In fact, it's going to be your test too, so I suggest you do some review too because the amount of attention you have been lately paying in class and your smart little brain surely won't be enough to get an A."

"We could study together," Peter suggested but she didn't fall for it.

"Like it's gonna end up studying that way," her disbelief clear in her voice.

Peter dropped his head so that his nose was only a few inches away from the remnants of his burger. "There's nothing I can say to convince you, right?"

"Well, I can't think of anything right now. But we can make up for it later, if you want." She proposed as she felt guilty for backing out.

"Right." Peter said listlessly as he lifted his gaze back at her.

"Alright then. See you in class." She finished the conversation and stood up from the table leaving the newspaper in front of him.

Peter stayed there at the table for a couple more minutes until the whole cafeteria remained empty and when the bell rang he knew he was going to be late from class once again.


	4. Chapter Four

That night Peter barely learned for his biology test. He was swinging in the city in his red and blue spandex, posing for his camera. He had considered the freelancer job at the Daily Bugle and decided to give it another shot. He had bought a new camera last day after school, a much better one than his previous, which had nearly cost him all his money, but he firmly believed it would pay off.

Taking pictures of himself was easy. He just webbed the camera onto a nearby wall and set the timer and an option with which he could take ten photos in a row. He hadn't been much on the other side of the lens but he liked it. He even climbed on top of the Empire State Building to shoot a picture with the whole of New York City in the background. He wasn't going to take that one to the Bugle as it would raise too much suspicion but he took it just for the sake of fun. When finally he deemed he had taken enough photos he just sunk his camera into his backpack and went looking for some trouble he could deal with.

First, he found two men trying to take a young lady's purse on the street. Peter landed behind the thieves and grabbed one's arm. The man turned around, surprised but it quickly turned into anger and he swung his fist toward Peter's face. Peter dodged the hit and grabbed the collar of the man's coat with his free hand and pushed him in the air behind him. The man landed on the ground with a loud thud and as he tried to get up on his feet Peter shot two webs at his hands sticking them to the ground. The thief cursed as he tried to untangle his hands with no success. Peter turned back to the other man who had meanwhile grabbed the lady's purse and was about to run away. Peter shot a string of web at him, grabbing the thief by the back of his coat. Peter pulled the man on the ground who dropped the purse as he lost his balance. Peter quickly made his way to the him and pushed his chest against the cold concrete not giving a chance for him to get up.

"I totally should have brought the camera," Peter sighed as he imagined a photo of himself stepping on the man's chest with one foot with his arms on his hips.

_How heroic and awesome _that_ would be._

"What?" The man asked with confusion, gasping for air. "What the hell are talking about?"

"Not talking to _you_." Peter snapped at him. He lifted his hand and stood up to get the purse that was laying a few feet from them on the sidewalk.

"You stay there," Peter said sharply and webbed the thief's feet to the ground to make sure he would. He walked to the lady and handed over the purse. As she took it from Peter he could see her hands were shaking.

"T-Thank you," she stammered and forced a weak smile on her face.

"You're welcome." Peter said, nodding and pointed at the robbers. "You might want to call the cops."

He didn't wait for the response, he shot a web onto a lamp post above him and propelled himself into the air, leaving the stunned woman on the street.

There were only a couple of other small incidents where Peter could help but other than that it was a quiet night in New York. After he had taken care of a gang assaulting a teenage boy Peter went on looking but after ten minutes of swinging around without finding any trouble he decided to give himself a break. He picked up his backpack from where he had left it and climbed on top of the highest building around. He sat down on the edge of the roof with his legs hanging in the air and took his mask off, letting the cool fresh air fill his lungs. It was relaxing to just sit there feeling the light breeze against his face, watching the cars that looked like tiny matchboxes from above.

Peter couldn't tell how long he had been sitting there when he checked the time on his cell. The numbers on the screen read 10:24 pm. It was getting late so he decided that he should head back home; his aunt had probably already been worrying about him. And even though Gwen had said that she wanted to learn, Peter thought he could pay her a short visit anyway. He stood up and put his cell back into his backpack alongside with his mask which he figured he wouldn't need in the dark. He swung his bag on his back and was about to leap off of the building when suddenly he heard the sound of an alarm coming from below.

"Aww," he emphasized the 'w's. "Just when I was-" but he didn't finish. He quickly pulled his mask out of the bag, the movement accompanied by a stressful sigh, and he leaped off of the building changing his primary direction and headed toward the building the alarm was coming from.

Peter descended from above and as he got closer he saw that the alarm was coming from a jewelry store on the corner of a dark alley. Peter landed on the building across the street from the store and saw that the blinds were shut and there was no light coming from the shop; there was no sign of intrusion. Peter wanted to cross the street to check out the store when suddenly the back door flung open and a dark figure stormed into the alley.

Peter reacted quickly and flew across the street, following the burglar. The street lights only cast a dim light into the alley and the black clothing of the man made him almost impossible for Peter to see. The robber moved fast, his movement smooth and natural as he maneuvered among the trash containers but he was suddenly forced to a stop by a tall brick wall at the end of the alley and it gave Peter a chance to catch him.

"End of trip, mister!" Peter quipped as he dropped to the ground behind the man. Now that he was only a few feet away from him, he could see the thick white hair falling on the burglar's back and he realized that _he _was more likely a _she_.

Hearing Peter's voice, she turned back toward him and Peter could see two huge bright orange eyes of a mask glowing in the dark. For a moment he paused and it gave just enough time for the woman to make her move. She lifted her arm toward the top of the building and a grey cable shot out and grabbed the ledge.

"What the hell?" Peter muttered as he watched her climb up the wall. He had never seen anybody move that fast.

He followed her to the roof, giving up entirely on his plans of visiting Gwen later that night. As he reached the rooftop first he couldn't see the thief anywhere but as he turned his head to his right he could see her jumping from one rooftop to another. She was already two blocks away from him.

"Who are you?" Peter wondered and ran after her continuing the chase.

While she was mostly moving on the rooftops Peter decided to choose a faster way of traveling in the form of swinging among the buildings. That way it didn't take him much time to catch up to her and he swung back onto the roof. She must have heard him as she stopped at the edge of the building and turned around to see where he was.

"Give me the bag!" Peter demanded, wanting to get her backpack with the stolen jewelry likely in it.

She flashed him a joyful smile and took a step forward, leaping off the building. As she disappeared from eyesight Peter could read it in her smile that she was clearly enjoying their little game.

"Oh, come on!" Peter expressed his incredulity and continued to follow her. He'd had enough of running around in the city but he had already spent enough time trying to catch her to give up on it.

He ran to the ledge to see where she had gone and saw her to his right, swinging above the streets just as if it were him. He saw her turn left at the second corner and he knew it was his chance to get in front of her.

Peter pushed himself into the air and instead of going after her, he swung straight into the street in front of him, parallel to the one the burglar was using to get away. He took a right turn at the first intersection and moved as fast as he could, using his every strength to get to the second crossing street before she would. He was getting close and almost thought he had succeeded when he saw the black suited thief appear from behind the house at the next intersection and cross the street in front of him.

Peter cursed and turned left. He was able to get closer to the woman and he shot a web at her leg attempting to stop her. It obviously caught her by surprise as she spun out of balance but she reacted quickly and with a swift move she cut the string with her claws.

_Claws?_ _You're full of surprises_, Peter thought as he started to find the mysterious woman interesting.

She took another turn left and swung into another alley. Peter followed her; he was only as much as five feet behind. The buildings surrounding the alley weren't a tall as the ones in the heart of the city so Peter decided to switch tactics and ducked down into the shadows, disappearing from eyesight. He followed her on the wall and saw her look behind herself and switch to a slower pace when she couldn't see him anywhere. After another few seconds when she was absolutely sure she had lost him she dropped to the ground and continued her way on foot, breathing heavily after the tiring chase. It was exactly what Peter was counting on and he hopped to the concrete behind her and grabbed her arm, making her stop.

"See, I thought women were smarter than that," Peter mocked her pompously.

"_Meow!_" Peter was astonished to hear the definitely not expected kind of offended response.

She took advantage of the stunned Spiderman and swung her claws toward Peter's head, dragging them through the skin on his face through the mask. Peter hissed in pain and reflexively lifted his hands to his face. He took his mask off so he could breathe freely and when he looked around he couldn't see the woman anywhere. Peter didn't want to lose her so he moved to a rooftop to track her down. He dragged his sight over the surrounding buildings but couldn't spot her. She had totally disappeared.

"Great," Peter sighed and touched his face to see if he was bleeding. He hissed again as his fingertips met the wounds. He drove his hand in front of his eyes to see the dark red fluid on the fabric on his fingers.

"Great," he repeated as his hand dropped to his side. He took a few faltering steps toward the edge of the building, hesitating whether or not to go after the woman but he thought better of it as he was sure that he would be unable to find her again. She was probably already far away.

"I hate cats," Peter said with abhorrence in his voice.

* * *

The green numbers of the clock on his bedside table read 1:46 when Peter climbed into his room through the window. When he arrived he saw that the house was dark so he assumed that Aunt May had already been asleep which wasn't really surprising considering the late hour. He carefully made his way into the bathroom and stood in front of the mirror to see how bad the cuts were. He grimaced at the view of the four parallel cuts across his face and turned the handle of the tap to wash the dried blood off. The cold water against his skin was refreshing. After washing his face he took some cotton wool from the cabinet behind the mirror and cleaned the cuts as much as he could and when he took another look at his face the marks didn't seem that bad. They were visible but not visible enough that they would draw attention to themselves, he was hoping at least.

He felt tired and fell on his bed feeling that sleepiness would defeat him any moment. Still, after a few minutes he gathered every bit of strength left in him then climbed out of bed and walked to his desk to get his biology textbook. He turned the light on and sat down, opening the book at the appropriate unit. He started reading but had gotten only as far as the third paragraph when the weight on his eyelids became too heavy and his head fell on the book.


	5. Chapter Five

When Peter left the biology classroom he knew he wasn't going to get a better mark for his test than a B-. He should have been worried about it but the thing that troubled him more was the mysterious cat woman he encountered the night before.

"So, how was it?" Gwen asked, falling in step with Peter in the hallway.

"B+, worst case scenario." Peter lied after taking off the hood to look at her. He had the hood on all day to cover the cuts. "How about yours?"

"Well, considering that I spent three and a half hours preparing for the test, I think it's gonna be an A." She stated, smiling proudly at Peter.

"Good for you," he responded, obviously not in the mood for a chit chat.

She noticed his reticence and cut to the chase.

"So, you wanna come over tonight?"

"Don't you have some test tomorrow you should learn for?" He asked with a low key aggrieved tone. He wasn't really mad with her and he regretted the tone he used the moment the words left his mouth.

"Come on, Peter, tomorrow is Saturday." She retorted. She tried not to sound insulted but wasn't sure whether or not she had succeeded.

"Oh, right," he said briefly, realizing how much he had lost track of days. He forced a smile as he continued. "Well, uh, sure then."

"Great," she noted happily. "See you tonight."

They had arrived at her locker so she turned to work her combination while Peter went on to his own locker.

The temperature was unusually cold for a late November night. As Peter made his way through the city to Gwen's apartment he felt the unpleasing sensation of the chilly wind piercing his skin under the spandex. He was glad that at least his backpack gave him some heat.

As the familiar fire escape came in sight Peter could see Gwen sitting on the platform with a mug full of some hot steaming fluid in her hands that Peter assumed must have been hot chocolate. She looked in his direction as if she somehow felt he was coming and stood up from her sitting position.

He softly landed in front of her and laid his hands around her waist, breathing a soft kiss on her lips.

"Hey, princess."

"Hi," she whispered. She stood close to him, their foreheads touching and he could feel her breath on his lips.

"It's cold out here, we should go inside," Peter said almost inaudibly.

She slowly pulled away from him without a word and climbed back inside her room; Peter following him. Once they were inside Peter closed the window and walked to Gwen who had by then sitting on her bed with the mug still in her hands. He hopped down beside her and for a couple seconds they both let silence encompass them.

"Peter, I didn't ask about these cuts back in school but I've noticed them. What happened?" She asked as she dragged her eyes through his face.

"It's nothing. Just a cat." He tried to avoid answering. He didn't want her to worry about it.

"Don't think I'm stupid. Please, tell me." Peter thought she wouldn't believe and he was right.

"Okay. Truth is, I've been fighting a dragon." He joked but it didn't have the desired effect.

"Peter, come on, it's not funny." She snapped at him.

He sighed and decided he'd be better off if he told her what really happened.

"Last night, when I was out, I met a woman who robbed a jewelry store. I followed her and she scratched me." Peter knew it must have sounded stupid from the look on her face.

"She _scratched _you?"

"Yeah." He nodded silently. She didn't say anything, just quietly swallowed the words of his story. "She had claws." He added and imitated them by bending his fingers and scratching the air in front of him. They both laughed at his gesture but it quickly faded and they went back looking into each other's eyes both trying to figure out what to say. .

"I need your help with something," Peter broke the silence and reached into his backpack, pulling out the black folder. He figured there wouldn't be too much to any of the documents in it or to Quentin Beck but he had this sixth sense kind of thing that told him to not let it go just yet.

"Okay," she said, following his hand with her eyes.

"I found this two days ago when I was investigating a break-in. This was the only thing I found but I couldn't find out how this man, Quentin Beck, could be connected to the case, if he is connected at all." While he spoke he opened the folder and showed her the photo. "I thought maybe you could help me."

"What do you want me do?" She asked and took a look at the picture of Beck.

"I don't know, maybe you could go through these documents again, maybe you'll see something I have overlooked." Peter suggested.

She placed the mug on next to the keyboard on her desk then took the folder from Peter and scrolled through the papers.

"Alright," She said hesitantly. Before she could have said anything else Peter interrupted.

"If you don't want to help, I totally understand." He stuttered, gesturing with his hands. "And it's probably nothing but still, I feel like there might be something."

"No, it's okay." She said reassuringly. "What have you got so far?"

Peter's face brightened and moved closer to Gwen so that he could have a better look at the documents in her hands.

"This guy," he began, pointing at the photo of Beck. "His name is Quentin Beck. He worked for a film studio. The one that had their office robbed. He was a special effects designer."

He looked at Gwen and she looked back at him waiting for him to continue but he stayed quiet.

"Well, this isn't much," she spoke when she was sure he had finished.

"I know but I only have this one folder and there's practically nothing in it so it's kind of hard, you know."

"Wait, it says here he has been fired." She said and pointed at the status of Beck.

Peter confirmed it with a short 'yeah'.

"Do they say why?" She asked as he checked the rest of the data sheet.

"No."

"If he has to do something with the case it might be important." Gwen stood up from the bed and sat into her chair, turning herself to the computer screen. "Let's see if I can find anything on the Internet."

"Don't bother." Peter said, annoyed. "There's nothing about him that isn't in these files."

She took her fingers from the keyboard and turned back toward him. "We have to find out somehow why this guy was fired. It might help us somehow."

"We should visit Wonder Studios. They sure can help us." Peter said, realization dawning on him.

"_We?_" Gwen asked, not sure if she had heard him right.

"Yeah. We. As a team." Peter replied naturally, flashing the kind of Peter Parker smile she had fallen in love with.

"I never knew we were a team." She whispered as she got lost in Peter's shining eyes.

"The best," Peter responded and Gwen wished that the space separating their lips wasn't there. She stayed silent, not letting words ruin the perfect moment.

The door of her room suddenly opened and Gwen's mother appeared on the doorstep. Gwen's heart missed a beat and her face turned white. She looked at her mother then at her bed and let out a relieved sigh when she noted that Peter wasn't sitting there anymore.

"What's the problem?" Mrs. Stacy asked, not realizing how close she was to revealing Peter's secret.

"Nothing." Gwen quickly answered trying to look and sound as casual as possible.

Her mother didn't seem to be convinced at first but then she decided to drop it.

"I just brought some sandwiches for you and Peter." She said already smiling and reached the plate toward Gwen. "Speaking of Peter, where is he?"

"In the bathroom." Gwen rapidly said the first thing that came into mind.

"Okay," Gwen could hear in her mother's tone that she suspected something was wrong. But she didn't push it and left the room.

Just when the door closed could Gwen see Peter standing at the wall. She could see that for a moment he thought he'd be unmasked, too.

"That was close," he breathed out, confirming her suspicions.

"Tell me about it." Gwen agreed as her face was slowly gaining back its color. "Some sandwich?"

* * *

"Oh, damn, you just ruined my plan." Peter exclaimed after Gwen had put two of her tiles on squares he had wanted to use in his next turn. Gwen flashed her victorious smile as she added her newly received points to her score.

They were both sitting on the floor of Gwen's room, facing each other, separated by the 15x15 cell grid between them.

"I would definitely do something about my score if I were you." She mocked him playfully.

"Thank you for pointing out the obvious." Peter retorted without looking up from his rack. Finally he picked two of his tiles and placed them on the board, perpendicular to an already existing word, making a new three letter one for himself.

"That's all you've got?" Gwen asked, looking unimpressed by Peter's move.

"You know I'm not a master of Scrabble," he explained, intentionally sounding embarrassed.

"Why, I can see that," she agreed. "Because I think I just won."

She placed four of her tiles on the board, covering a triple-word square scoring a total of fifty-one points.

"Are you kidding me?" Peter expressed his surprise. He couldn't believe she beat him that bad.

"See? I'm the winner." She smiled at him.

A sudden grin appeared on Peter's face and he wiped all the tiles off of the board.

"What winner?" He asked as his face turned serious.

"Oh, come on. Admit it, I won." She pushed, smiling which indicated that she was clearly enjoying herself.

"If I get to kiss you now, I think the victory is mine." Peter said excitedly, his traveling from Gwen's eyes to her lips.

"Or is it?" She asked, her voice full of desire, her eyes shining with _want_. It was practically an invitation for Peter.

He caught her by surprise though and she couldn't help giggling as his lips met hers. She leaned back gasping for air and grabbed Peter by his t-shirt, pulling him on the ground with her. He landed above her, their faces only inches apart. Her laugh slowly faded and she stared at him pleadingly, trying to communicating her desire to be consumed by him. Peter's eyes showed a moment of hesitation but then he slowly leaned forward and closed the gap between them. She closed her eyes as his warm lips brushed against hers, feeling the passion for him course through her body. She wrapped an arm around his neck and lifted the other, driving her fingers through his perfectly disheveled hair. Peter's heart raced as he covered her mouth with his, tasting her strawberry lipstick that made him dizzy. He moved his left hand to her waist, touching her perfectly smooth skin under her shirt. They kissed passionately, expressing their love and after what seemed like an infinity their lips finally parted and Peter rolled to his back next to Gwen. They just lied on the floor next to each other, staring at the ceiling. They hadn't gotten too far but just far enough for both of them to know, to _feel _the intensity of the past few minutes.

"I think I should go. It's getting late," Peter finally broke the silence but didn't move. He knew he had to go but his heart told him otherwise.

"Don't." He heard Gwen's beseeching voice. "Please, stay."

The dim moonlight percolated into the room, casting a shadow of their motionless bodies on the wall of the room.

"Okay," He whispered after a moment of silence.

Peter was the first to move. He stood up and collected the Scrabble tiles that were scattered all around the carpet. Gwen slowly followed him and got up from the ground. She exited the room and after a few minutes she returned with a pillow and an extra blanket in her hands.

"Red and blue." Peter said as he saw the blanket. "My favorite colors."

* * *

"I still like kissing you."

They were lying in her bed, both of them on their sides, facing each other with their eyes locked. She smiled at him but remained silent, letting his words linger in the air.

"You know after we had talked on your front porch I thought I was never going to get to kiss you again." She finally said, her voice soft but Peter could hear the uneasiness in her words. .

"Yeah, me too." Peter admitted and adjusted the pillow under his head.

"I love you, Peter Parker." She whispered after a short pause, her tone of voice reflecting the meaning of her words.

He realized they had never said these simple words to each other and hearing them he knew how much they had missed.

"I love you, too." He responded and leaned forward to lay another kiss on her lips.


	6. Chapter Six

Peter and Gwen decided to visit Wonder Studios on Monday after school. They met at Gwen's place; from there it only took twenty minutes to get to the office building. Peter arrived ten minutes early so he had to wait until Gwen finally appeared at the doors of their apartment building. He switched nervous looks with the doorman who had obviously memorized his face since their last little escapade. Peter tried to keep a good amount of distance but couldn't help the feeling that he was constantly being watched so when the door finally opened and Gwen stepped out of the building Peter was utterly relieved.

She looked beautiful as the light early-winter breeze slightly blew her hair. Every time Peter saw her, it made his heart skip a beat. She smiled as she approached him, holding some kind of cards in both hands. Peter greeted her with a kiss and she lifted her hands, showing the badges to him.

"Where did you get these?" Peter asked, amazed by the two Daily Bugle badges Gwen was holding in her hands. According to those both Peter and Gwen were working for the Bugle as reporters.

"I figured they wouldn't let us in just because we say 'please' so I might have made some moves not so legal." She gave him the mysterious answer.

"You're amazing, Gwen Stacy." Peter smiled appreciatively. He couldn't be thankful enough that he had a girlfriend like Gwen.

"Thanks. You know I must do everything to keep up with you in amazing."

"Oh," Peter said teasingly. "I thought I was the one who had to keep up with you."

_How does he always know the right thing to say_, Gwen wondered and felt as she blushed at his compliment.

"But there's one thing I'd like in return." She warned Peter and passed him the badge.

"Sure."

"I'm asking the questions."

"Let's go, okay?" Peter suggested avoiding answering and with Gwen's approving nod they headed for Wonder Studios.

When they arrived at the building they told the receptionist who they wanted to visit and the guy behind the counter called the number of the studio to inform the office of the two Daily Bugle reporters. After a short talk he set the receiver back to its place and told them which floor they would find the office on. Peter and Gwen said thanks for the help and headed for the elevator. When they arrived at the office a tall brown haired man opened the door.

"You are the reporters, I presume." The man sounded friendly.

"Yes. My name's Peter Parker and this is my colleague, Ms. Gwen Stacy," Peter introduced themselves, trying to sound professional.

"Daniel Hayes." He said and shook hands with the reporters. "How can I help you?" He tried to sound friendly but Peter and Gwen both could tell that he probably had more important things to do than having a conversation with some reporters.

"We are here to ask a couple of questions about the break-in from two days ago." Peter spoke.

"I didn't think that a little thing like this would draw the attention of the Daily Bugle."

_Or at least you hoped it wouldn't, _Peter thought as he could see something on Hayes' features that suggested he didn't really want to talk about it.

"Actually, the simplicity of the case is what makes it interesting." Gwen reacted quickly before Hayes' could have told them there's nothing about the case worth investigating. .

Hayes hesitated before finally stepping out of the way. "I see. Please, come inside and take a seat and we'll see if I can help you."

Peter let Gwen go first and they entered the room, Hayes following them. There was a black leather couch in the room where Gwen and Peter sat down while Hayes took a seat behind the table at the window. As Peter drove his gaze through the room he couldn't see any changes since he had been there except that the box in which he found the folder was now in its place in the file drawer.

"So, what can I do for you?" Hayes asked and leaned back in his chair with a strained smile on his face.

Gwen adhered to their agreement with Peter so she cleared her throat and asked the first question.

"So as far as we know the robber was unseen. When did you notice there was a break-in?"

"It was the security cameras that sensed movement in the room after everybody had left the office that evening. You see Ms. Stacy, these doors can be opened only with these passes that only those have who work here." Hayes explained and took the pass out of his briefcase to show it. "And the advantage of these passes is that they cannot be copied. So the intruder must have somehow tricked the security system to gain entrance into the office. It is still a mystery though how he or she managed to pull it off."

"I see." Gwen nodded in understanding. "Do you know what has been stolen?"

"Yes." Hayes leaned forward as he spoke. "And it is what's most interesting of all. There were hundreds of valuable items and documents in this office yet the robber only took the files of our former special effects designer."

"Quentin Beck." Peter interrupted but he regretted it that very moment.

"How did you know?" Hayes asked pulling his eyebrows together.

"I uh, I did my research." Peter saved the situation.

Hayes looked sceptical about Peter's answer but Gwen's next question didn't give him enough time to think about it.

"What were in those files?"

"The files contained several plans and descriptions of Beck's machines he wanted to use in his work. Those plans are worthless if not in capable hands. That's why we don't understand why somebody would need them."

"What do you mean he _wanted_ to use?" Peter referred to Hayes earlier choice of words.

"I meant that Beck was fired two months ago and he didn't have a chance to apply any of his mechanic equipment in the movies he started to work on."

"Why was he fired?" Peter took the liberty of asking from Gwen.

"Just the usual story." Hayes started, sounding bored having to explain it. "He wanted more money because he felt he wasn't getting the amount of appreciation he deserved and when the directorate told him no he said he wasn't going to work for the company."

"And they let him go." Gwen finished the story. "So he wasn't fired then."

"No. It was his choice to leave." Hayes agreed.

They took a moment for the information to settle before Gwen spoke again. "I have one final question."

"Go ahead." Hayes nodded patiently.

"What is Beck doing now?"

"We don't know. We don't keep records of our past co-workers."

"I understand. I think we're finished. Thank you for your time, Mr. Hayes."

Hayes nodded and the three of them stood up. They shook hands once more and Hayes showed the two reporters out.

* * *

"Well, that went good." Gwen rated the interview once they were outside the building.

They both unpinned the badges from their shirts and started to walk back toward Gwen's.

"Yeah. We've got what we came for." Peter agreed but he didn't seem as honestly happy about it as Gwen.

"I still don't know how this helps." Gwen voiced both of their thoughts.

"Me neither." Peter admitted. "But I got a feeling that this guy knows way more than what he's telling us."

"I don't know he seemed pretty helpful."

"Yeah, well, I guess." Peter said but he still had his suspicions.

"Totally unrelated topic but did you get photos for the Bugle?" Gwen asked after a couple seconds of silent walking.

Peter looked at her with a confused look at his face. It took him a moment to remember the application she had given him. "Oh, right. Yeah, I managed to get a few shots. A few of them might even be good enough."

She didn't reply, they continued their way once again without talking. As the sun began to set, its rays cast a beautiful orange curtain over the city and with the glass windows of the skyscrapers reflecting the light from all directions Gwen could easily imagine what heaven could be like. She wondered what it was like from above. _It must be beautiful_, she thought.

"So, Gwen, would you, uh, want to watch the sunset from somewhere higher?" Peter asked shyly. Even though they were together, asking Gwen Stacy out was always the hardest thing for him.

"I'd love to, Peter but I can't," she didn't look at him just examined the asphalt in front of her feet. She wondered how he could possibly know what she was thinking about but she figured it was one of those things about Peter Parker that she was never going to find out.

"Why not?" He asked, his voice full of disappointment.

"I'm sorry. I promised my mom that I would take care of my brothers tonight. She has some overtime to do and she won't be getting home until late."

"Yeah." Peter whispered with a resigned sigh.

"I'm sorry, Peter. I really am." Gwen finally looked up at him to see the heartbroken expression on his face as he ambled next to her looking in the distance in front of them.

"Can I at least take you home?"

She smiled at him propitiatingly as she answered. "That would be great."

"Wait here." He told her and disappeared in an alley they were about to pass.

She followed him with her gaze but didn't expect him to reappear. Or at least she didn't expect Peter Parker to reappear. As she reached the alley she took a look inside but there was no one in there.

"Peter?" She called and turned her head toward the rooftops above her, once again not to see him.

"Whoo!" Gwen heard the sudden sound fill the air. She backed out of the alley to see Peter come swinging in the air from the direction where they came from.

After a couple of spectacular acrobatic moves Peter landed on the sidewalk a few inches from Gwen. The moment his feet touched the ground the people, mostly girls, in the street gathered around him, many of them taking pictures of Spiderman with their cells others just asking him to take them or a ride. Peter didn't pay attention to them, he wrapped an arm around Gwen's waist and looked into her eyes through his mask.

"You ready?" He asked.

"Yes." They were being encircled with more and more people but she looked straight into his eyes through the mask without caring about the jealous looks all around them.

Peter lifted his arm and shot a string of web onto the bottom of a balcony and elevated themselves into the air. The sound of the girls' screaming voices slowly faded away as they swung back to Gwen's apartment.

It was almost entirely dark when they landed softly on the fire escape. Peter let go of Gwen and she slid her window open. She put one leg inside her room but then turned back toward Peter.

"I'm sorry." She apologized again.

Peter could see that she meant it but he could do nothing about it.

"Goodnight." He said briefly and turned around to leave without even waiting until she got inside. He leaped off of the fire escape and soon disappeared behind a building.

"Goodnight, Peter." Gwen whispered but she knew he couldn't hear him. She waited motionlessly for a few seconds then climbed inside her room and closed the window.

* * *

Peter didn't go straight home from Gwen's apartment. He swung to the place where he went if he wanted to clear his head or if he just wanted to be alone. The noises of the city didn't reach the top of the building so Peter could be left perfectly undisturbed. He sat down on the ledge beside the gargoyle and took his mask off to take a deep breath of the cold winter air.

He just sat there, staring at the stars that were beautifully visible on the New York sky. He thought about Gwen and he wished she were there with him, someone he could share the moment with.

Suddenly on the rooftop opposite to him he could see a familiar figure in black latex with the white hair waving in the air. He didn't want to go after her but at least it gave him some distraction from Gwen's absence. He had to decide whether or not to go until he could still see her and finally he lubberly stood up and took two steps back, putting his mask back on and stepped off the ledge, beginning the hunt.


	7. Chapter Seven

Peter was jumping from rooftop to rooftop following the woman in black latex. He was trying hard not to lose her but from the way she acted he figured he wouldn't anyway. She didn't seem like she was really trying to get away, Peter figured. Whenever he would get close enough to reach out and grab her she would make a swift turn and his fist would grab the air in front of him. Still she moved just as fast so that he could keep up. After the fourth time she played this it was clear to Peter that to her this was only a game and Spiderman was nothing more than her playmate.

Peter leaped across the air to another rooftop but as his feet reached the ground the woman was nowhere to be found. He stopped and looked around, his body steady so he could shoot out in the instant he spotted her. He almost thought he had lost her when he heard a sudden loud whistle from behind him. He turned in the direction of the sound to see her in the alley below, holding on to the bars of a fire escape. He didn't hesitate and jumped off of the building toward her. The woman had expected it and when Peter was halfway in the air, she pushed herself from the fire escape and with a back flip in the air, her feet landed against the walls opposite. She kept herself in motion and moved on, reaching for the ledge of the rooftop above her across the alley. When Peter landed on the fire escape she had already been standing above him on the roof.

"Hey, Spidey, over here," she shouted, leaning forward so that Peter could see the cheerful smile on her face as he looked up. "Gotta be faster."

"I'll show you faster." Peter retorted.

The face quickly disappeared and he knew he didn't have time to waste so he shot a web toward the ledge and propelled himself onto the rooftop. He could just spot as the white mass of hair disappeared behind an air shaft so he followed, picking up his pace.

They continued the chase for another half an hour when Peter could see that his opponent was getting tired. Or at least she was pretending to be getting tired because one thing that Peter surely knew was that nothing about her was the way it looked. Peter took advantage and shifted into a higher gear to get in front of her. He moved to a higher rooftop, keeping his eyes on her, careful not to lose her sight and when he was in level with her he shot a web onto a water tank and swung back to the other building, landing in front of her, forcing her to a sudden halt.

The first moments of astonishment on her features were quickly replaced by a naughty smile. She raised her arms in an attack form and spun her waist in a quick motion and extended her leg toward Peter's head to kick him with the circular momentum. Peter was expecting her attack and before her leg could have reached his head he caught it with his hands and made a 360 degree spin throwing her out of balance and bringing her to the ground.

She gasped for air as his move caught her by surprise. She didn't launch a counter just slowly brought herself to a sitting position.

"Nice move, web-head." She smiled appreciatively. Peter saw she had given up but he stayed alert, in case she tried to do something unexpected.

"What did you steal today?" Peter asked, looking at her backpack.

"Why would you assume I stole anything?" She asked, still sitting.

"Well, from the way you tried to get away from me I guess you have something you don't want to be taken from you." Peter explained, looking at her bright orange eyes.

"I was enjoying myself." She answered simply then added. "I love playing."

Peter reached his arm out toward her. "Give me the bag."

Instead of giving him her bag she placed her hand in his and pulled herself up from the ground. "Thank you."

"Give me the bag." Peter repeated, slowly losing his patience.

She looked at him hesitantly then finally grabbed the strap of her backpack and pulled it off of her shoulders, handing it to Peter.

"Thank you, Miss-," Peter said waiting for her to tell her name.

"Black Cat." She said and crossed her arms across her chest.

"Black Cat." Peter repeated, tasting its sound and unzipped the backpack to take a look inside. "Couldn't you come up with a better name?"

Peter waited for an answer but when it didn't come he looked up once again to not see her standing in front of him.

"Should have thought." Peter mumbled lowered his arm with the bag in it.

The bag was empty so Peter had to face that he had been fooled again. He dropped the backpack to the ground and headed toward the ledge to take off. He knew he had no chance of finding the woman again. She played the game good. The Black Cat was annoying but Peter had to admit that he enjoyed running around the city after her. He couldn't help but smile as he leaped off of the building, heading home.

* * *

The first day of December brought a massive amount of snow so Peter had to leave his skateboard at home before leaving for school. When finally his scars and bruises had healed and he didn't have to pull his hood on to hide his face, he had to pull it on in order to keep it warm.

"This came out of nowhere." Aunt May said, looking out the kitchen window, watching the snowfall.

"Yeah. Now I can take a school bus instead of going on my board." Peter said, his words accompanied by an exasperated sigh, and he put another spoon of cereal in his mouth.

"Well, I don't like you riding that thing anyway." Aunt May said without taking her eyes off of the huge snowflakes.

"You keep telling me that. How could I ever forget?" Peter reassured her with hints of irony in his voice. He quickly finished his cereal and jumped out of the chair, heading for the door. He put his coat and scarf on, pulling the hood over his head.

"I'm off to school, Aunt May!" Peter shouted back from the door.

"Okay. Be careful with the ice. It's slippery." He heard his aunt's voice from the kitchen.

"Alright." He responded to her useful advice and opened the door to leave.

The chilly winter breeze sent a shiver down his spine as he stepped outside of the house. He saw the school bus turn at the corner and he knew he had missed it but it wasn't that big of a deal as he wasn't planning on taking it anyway. He looked back at the kitchen window to see if Aunt May was still watching but when he couldn't see her face behind the glass he took a few steps and elevated himself into the air.

* * *

The bell rang and Peter shut the locker and headed for biology class.

Third period, moment of truth, he thought as he walked toward the classroom.

"You excited?" Gwen caught up to him.

"Why would I be?" Peter asked offhandedly. "I told you. B+ or better."

"Uh-huh." She answered, skeptical about his statement. "We'll see."

Peter nodded as they entered the classroom and took their seats. They had to wait a minute until the teacher came in, holding their tests under his arm.

"Good morning, class." He greeted cheerfully. He walked to his table and turned to the students. "So, I brought your tests. Some of them are good, some of them _not_ so good."

"This one is for you," Gwen whispered to Peter as she heard the teacher press the 'not'.

He just smiled back at her, trying not to show how afraid he was. The teacher looked at the papers in his hands to see whose test was on top and then walked to a girl in the back row and placed her test in front of her.

"A!" They heard her exclaim with surprise and happiness.

"Oh, come on. Like you hadn't known," A guy noted sarcastically.

Peter's test was in the middle of the pile and so was Gwen's so they received the papers after each other. Peter waited as the teacher slowly moved toward his desk and placed his test in front of him, upside down. He watched him march over to Gwen and then returned his attention to his own paper. He turned it with its right side up and drove his gaze to the top right corner where he was hoping not to find his mark. First he couldn't believe what he saw. A-. He blinked twice to make sure he wasn't hallucinating, but the A- didn't dissolve. He never thought he would get as much as a B, not to mention an A-. He wanted to shout out in rejoice but something stopped him.

"Really?" He heard a bitter voice to his left. He turned his head to see Gwen holding his paper, looking at it with a sour face.

"What is it?" He asked sympathetically.

"B-!" She complained and looked at him despairingly as if her mark meant her certain death. "B-. Can you believe this?"

Peter felt sorry for her but he was more happy for his A- that he achieved with zero learning.

"How about yours?" She asked hoping to find some relief in Peter's presumably worse mark.

"I don't think you wanna know," he answered honestly. He could picture Gwen finding out about his mark and her reaction to it. He knew she would be able to tear down a whole city in her anger and disappointment if she found out.

"Okay, class. I hope everybody got one mark worse than they deserved. And now, let's get down to our next unit," the teacher said and he walked to the board.

* * *

"A-?" She screamed angrily once they were back in the hallway. "How the hell did you manage to write an A-?"

"Come on, Gwen, calm down." Peter tried to soothe her but it didn't seem to work.

"Calm down? You expect me to calm down? You got an A- with absolutely no learning. I got a B-, you understand? I spent three and a half hours preparing for this single test and the reward for that is a B-. I can't believe this." Gwen jabbered furiously as they made their way to their lockers.

"This is just one mark, okay? No need to get this upset. Besides, it's just a B-. It's not that bad." Peter tried everything but Gwen was too stubborn.

"It may not be bad but it's totally unfair. The time I spent learning you spent with swinging around the city. It should have been me that got the A, not you." She was nowhere near settling down. They stopped when they had reached her locker and she turned to take out the books she was going to need for her next class.

"Well, I can't help it, I am a genius." Peter boasted when he realized how right she was.

"Oh, shut up!" Gwen said, put down the books she was holding and hit Peter's arm with her fist.

"Ouch!" Peter cried voicing his displeasure. He didn't want to risk further injuries so he decided to reconcile her. "Hey, how about I take you out to dinner tonight? We can find the most fancy restaurant in the city and I'll buy you anything you want."

The strategy seemed to have worked as a weak smile appeared in the corners of her mouth.

"Does sound good." She admitted, now on a softer tone. "Pick me up at eight."

"Sure." Peter said, happy that her rage has faded. "Eight it is, then."

She nodded and he laid a soft kiss on her cheek before he turned to walk to his locker.

"You lucky bastard," she mumbled as she watched him walk away.

He saw him lift his right arm in the air without turning back, pointing his index finger at the ceiling as if a warning. "Heard it."


	8. Chapter Eight

When she heard the bell ring Gwen quickly made her way to the hall and opened the door to see Peter Parker standing in front of her with his coat folded on his left arm. She opened her mouth to say hi but not a single word came out. He looked amazing in his dark blue shirt that fitted him perfectly. It wasn't too often that she saw him in a shirt, but it did look good on him. His face was beautiful with its own childish expression, his familiar brown eyes captured every nerve in her mind and he flashed the kind of smile that made him irresistible.

"Hi," she said after she had regained her breath. .

"Hi," Peter couldn't hear his own words as he had gotten lost in her beautiful grace. He wasn't even sure if he had said it.

She stood in front of her like an angel as her blonde hair flowed down on her shoulders. She wore a simple light grey long sleeved one shoulder top with skin tight blue jeans and her usual black knee high boots. Her whole being radiated a slight lack of self confidence but it only made her look even more perfect to Peter.

"You look beautiful," he said still enchanted by her glamor.

She blushed at his compliment.

"Thanks. I didn't know what to wear so I chose this simple top and-" she started nervously but Peter cut her off.

"It's perfect." He said softly. "_You're_ perfect."

For a few long moments she looked straight into his eyes then cleared her throat, snapping back to reality.

"So, um, since when do you come through the front door?" She asked, still surprised to see him on her doorstep instead of watching him enter through the window of her room.

"Now, maybe." Peter smiled. "But I can't promise it will stay this way."

"Wouldn't mean a lot anyway," she teased.

"No, it probably wouldn't." Peter agreed after thinking about it then after a short pause he added. "So, you ready?"

"Yeah." Gwen nodded. "Let me just get my purse. And my coat."

Peter watched her disappear in the living room and a couple of seconds later return with a black purse in her hands.

"Hold this, would you?" She asked and handed Peter her purse without listening to his answer. She walked to take her coat off of the hanger.

"Take good care of her, Peter!" He heard Gwen's mom shouting from somewhere in the apartment.

"I will, Mrs. Stacy." Peter answered as he watched Gwen roll her eyes with annoyance. He couldn't help but smile at her reaction.

"Come on," she hurried him and grabbed his arm, pulling him out into the hallway. She took her purse back from him and locked the door behind them and they headed for the elevator.

They walked hand in hand in the streets of Manhattan, listening to the passing cars, the voices of people talking and the snow crunch under their feet. They passed a park where they could see small, probably preschool children having a snowball fight. It was already dark but the street lamps gave enough light for them to not always miss their target. They were laughing happily as they shaped a handful of snow into spheres and threw them at each other while their parents were talking merrily at the nearby benches.

"Do you think we'll have our own someday?" Gwen asked Peter, watching a little girl fall into the snow after she had been hit by a larger piece of snowball. She smiled as the guy who hit her raised both of his arms in the air victoriously. She could easily picture herself and Peter in the future having a snowball fight with their own little boy.

"I don't know, Gwen." Peter answered briefly. He hadn't given much thought to having a family and now that Gwen actually asked, he didn't know what the right answer would be. They were still going to high school and even if they wanted to have a family, it would be years later. It wasn't the time to decide yet.

She didn't force the subject as it was more like a sudden thought than a long considered question so they continued their walk, talking about small, everyday things on the way. After about ten minutes Peter stopped in front of a tall building.

"We're here." He told Gwen.

She looked around but she couldn't see anything that would indicate there was a restaurant anywhere near.

"What is this place?" She looked at Peter as her doubts grew.

"Don't worry, you'll see." Peter answered mysteriously and led her inside..

They made their way through the hall toward the elevator. By then Gwen had absolutely no idea what Peter was planning but she decided to trust him for the time being. They stepped inside the cabin and Peter positioned himself so that Gwen couldn't see which floor's button he pressed. The doors closed and the elevator started moving upwards. Gwen watched the small green numbers above the door but they didn't seem to stop until they had reached level fifteen. When the doors finally opened they stepped outside of the elevator and Gwen was shocked by what she saw.

They were standing at the entrance of an Italian rooftop restaurant. As she looked around she saw that the place was surrounded with enormous glass panels with a marquee serving as a ceiling in the cold winter weather, keeping the snow from falling on the tables. The furniture was modern but elegantly stylish, perfectly reflecting the quality of the place. The tables were tastefully laid; each of them having a nice bunch of flowers and a candle on it while there was a menu placed in front of every seat. Many of the tables had been taken but the restaurant wasn't nearly full, thus proving the size of the place.

"Peter, this is amazing!" She turned to him, her eyes shining with admiration.

"I was hoping you'd like it." He said, smiling at her. He was happy to see her happy.

They walked to the reception where a woman was waiting for those who wanted to enter.

"Welcome. How can I help you?" She asked with a welcoming smile. According to her badge her was Allie. Gwen could tell in the very first moment that she had laid eyes on Peter so she moved closer to him, wrapping her arm around his.

"Hi. I reserved a table for two. The name is Parker." Peter said and watched as Allie searched in her computer.

"Yes, Mr. Parker," the receptionist looked back up when she had found the reservation. "Your table is in the back to the right. You'll find your nameplate on it."

Gwen grimaced disgustedly at the tone the receptionist was using. She was keeping her eyes on Peter the whole time and Gwen wondered if she had still been this ambitious if she had known how much she wasn't Peter's type.

"Thank you." Peter said and they turned around to find their table.

"You're welcome. If you need anything just ask." They could hear Allie's overly bland voice from behind them.

"If you need anything just ask." Gwen repeated mockingly once she was sure they had gotten out of earshot.

"Hey, Gwen," Peter chuckled. "If I hadn't known you better I would think you are jealous."

"Jealous?" She said as if she had no idea what he was talking about. "Of who? Seriously, Peter."

He let out a small laugh and headed for the table where he had spotted the plate with his name on it. Peter helped Gwen out of her coat and placed it on the coat rack beside their table along with his then pulled out her chair for her to sit down.

"Thank you." She said as she took the seat.

Peter sat down opposite to her and a waiter immediately appeared at the table. He lit the candle and took out his notepad and pen. The waiter's aura radiated the kind of elegance that the place required.

"Good evening. Can I get you anything to drink?" He asked politely.

"I think I'll have a glass of water. Carbonated." Peter said and the waiter nodded, putting the order down on his notepad.

"And you, miss?" The waiter turned to Gwen.

"I'll have the same, thank you."

"Two glasses of water it is. I'll be bringing them in a moment." The waiter said and he left.

Peter reached for the menu that lay on the table in front of him and opening it he started choosing his course.

"Hey, look, they serve branzino!" Gwen suddenly exclaimed and showed her menu to Peter to prove it.

"Thanks, but no thanks. Without Simon here to help me, I'm not taking any chances." Peter responded. He remembered how embarrassing it was for him when he was having problems with the fish at the dinner with Gwen's family and he didn't want to relive the experience.

"Okay, I'm just saying." Gwen gave up and returned to her menu.

Soon the waiter returned bringing their glasses of water on a round shaped tray.

"There you go." He said as he placed the glasses on the table in front of Peter and Gwen. "Are you ready to order?"

Peter looked at Gwen and after she had nodded approvingly he said. "Yes, we think we are."

"Alright." The waiter said and prepared his notepad.

"I would like this, uh, cannelloni with meat sauce, please." Gwen was the first to order trying to give her best Italian pronunciation and the waiter sedulously scribbled the course onto his paper.

"How about you, sir?"

"Oh, I would like a shrimp marinara with spaghetti, please." Peter told him and the waiter put his pen to paper again.

"Your choice represents a good taste," the waiter praised. "Can I get you anything else?"

"No, this will be all." Peter said.

"Very well. Please, kindly wait, your orders will be served in about ten minutes." He reached for the menus and the two guests handed them over.

The waiter left once again to leave Peter and Gwen alone at the table. A short period of silence settled on them as they shared a look, bathing in the view of one another.

"How long for those to disappear?" Gwen asked, looking at the cuts on Peter's face. They had gotten less visible during the past days but they were still just visible enough for someone who sees to ask how Peter had received them.

"I'm not sure." Peter answered and carefully touched the scars with his hands. "Probably a couple days. Maybe a little more. But you do know they make me look sexy?"

Gwen laughed as Peter pulled up an eyebrow and pursed his lips, showing how sexy he really was.

"If it makes you sexy, why hide it at school?" She asked a thorny question.

"I can't afford to let them be seen in front of all the girls in school. Seeing how jealous one woman could make you..." Peter smiled, deciding to play the game.

Her mouth dropped wide open as she couldn't believe what he was saying.

"Oh, you-" Gwen started but the noise of a sudden loud explosion hid the best part from Peter.

Everyone in the restaurant turned their heads toward the sound and so did the two of them. It wasn't hard to find the source of the detonation, ten or so blocks away from the restaurant a huge amount of smoke filled the air.

Gwen knew instantly what Peter was thinking of and she looked at him, sending a threatening look in his direction.

"Gwen, I must," he said regretfully.

"Don't you leave me here, Peter. Let the firefighters do their job." She reasoned but it was useless.

"They might need me." Peter insisted that he go, trying to convince her.

"Or they might not."

Peter didn't argue more, he stood up from the table but Gwen reached out and grabbed his arm.

"You said you wanted to spend the night with me, together," she said, hurt reflecting in her eyes.

"I know, Gwen but we have to postpone it to another day." He said and waited for her to release his arm. Of course he didn't want to leave Gwen alone when the evening started out so well but he had responsibilities. He must help. Gwen wanted him to stay but she knew there was nothing she could say to stop him so she gave up and let him go.

"My wallet is in my pocket," Peter pointed at his coat behind Gwen and left the table heading back toward the entrance, trying to find a place where he could change.

Gwen just sat at the table and buried her face in her hands, trying to hide how close a tear was to rolling down her cheek. A minute later the waiter came back and brought their orders, placing them on the table. Gwen said thanks and took a bite of her pasta, staring blankly at the empty seat across the table.


	9. Chapter Nine

Gwen Stacy was unsure of a lot of things. She was unsure of which university she should apply to, or if she should apply at all or just continue working at OsCorp because they had assured her that they had a place for her if she decided to return. She was unsure of whether she should move out after finishing high school or stay with her mom and help her take care of her brothers. She was unsure of whether or not she should go to the prom in the end of the year as it didn't belong to those kinds of events she was very fond of. She was even unsure of having put on the right amount of make up every time she would leave their apartment in the morning. But Gwen was sure of one thing and that one thing was enough to make her forget all her worries.

And that one thing she knew was that she loved Peter Parker. He was the best thing that had so far happened to her in her life. His perfectly tousled hair, his beautifully glowing brown eyes, his slender, yet muscular body that attracted girls' looks like a magnet, his charming gawkiness and his incredibly cute self that could also be infinitely confident and sexy. Not to mention the negligible little fact that he was a superhero.

Peter Parker was the closest thing to her heart and she felt like he was slowly drifting away. She remembered all the times, even if there weren't so many, they had spent together, even the smallest stolen looks and smiles they had shared and the pleasurable warmth that flowed through her entire body was the most captivating feeling she had ever felt and she didn't want to let that go.

These thoughts ran through Gwen's mind as she was walking home in the dim lit streets. The cold, chilling wind was growing stronger and she pulled her coat tighter around her body trying to maximize its heat providing capacity. She once again passed the park they had seen with Peter but the kids had already left and were most probably sleeping in their comfortable, soft warm beds.

The welcoming warm temperature of their apartment came as a long desired relief as she stepped through the doorstep. It was dark; her mother and brothers had probably been all asleep by then. She turned the lights on and as quietly as she could she made her way into her room. She closed the door behind her and walked to the window, taking one last look at the endless ocean of glowing spots above the streets. She wanted to spot Peter as he came swinging toward her window but she knew that he was out there fighting the fire that ruined their evening.

She shut her blinds and after turning the light off she dropped to her bed still in her clothes. She stared at the motionless shadows of the ceiling before she finally fell asleep and so later she couldn't hear the buzzing sound of her cell phone on the nightstand, warning her of an incoming call.

* * *

When Peter arrived at the scene he could see that the fire came from a bank, although the flames had almost covered the whole place, making it almost impossible to identify. There were a few people on the sidewalk who had managed to get out and Peter first went to them to ask if there was anyone still in the building. He was told that some of the workers and clients had been trapped by the debris that fell from the ceiling when the explosion happened but the fire department hadn't arrived yet and there was no one that could help them. It was all him. Peter decided not to wait and after taking a deep breath he entered the building.

For a moment he couldn't breathe of the sudden sensation of heat that coursed through his whole body. He stopped and looked around, trying to see among the huge flames and smoke that filled the air. He could hear a weak voice to his left calling for help and as he moved closer he could see a man, probably in his fifties, sitting on the floor with his leg trapped under a fallen column that was supposed to hold the ceiling. Peter bent down to grab the column and gathered all his strength, trying to lift it high enough so that the man could pull his leg from under it. The trapped man let out a painful cry as Peter lifted the huge weight from his leg and shook his head, telling Peter that he couldn't move his leg.

Peter's hold on the column was starting to weaken as the burning heat sucked out the strength from his body. He gritted his teeth under the mask and as hard as it was, he held the column in the air until the man finally managed to pull his leg from under it. Once he had been free Peter released the column and it reached the ground with a loud crash. He helped the man stand up and put one of his arm around his neck and then they headed for the exit as fast as the probably broken leg let them.

Peter sucked in a deep breath of fresh air as they reached the street. He felt an urge to take off his mask and let his lungs drink in the refreshing oxygen but there were still a couple of people around .The fire department had also arrived and while some of them were already spraying water on the building others were preparing themselves to enter the flames and rescue the ones stuck inside.

Peter carefully sat the man down on the pavement and without further thinking he returned to the building, disappearing in the red flames. He didn't even pay attention to the firemen who ordered him to stay outside as he would risk getting severe injuries without having taken proper precautions.

He tried to spend as little time inside as possible so he moved quickly. The heat was growing unbearable but he kept moving further inside. Suddenly he heard a cracking noise from above his head but he couldn't react quick enough and a large piece of the ceiling swept him off his feet. He coughed as he inhaled another unwanted amount of dust. He put his arms on the ground and tucked his elbows, trying to lift himself but his muscles failed him and he fell back to the ground.

He heard another crack, this time from the ground beside him. He turned his head but his vision had already become blurry so he couldn't make out much around him. But that much he saw as a pair of dark pants appeared next to him, only a few feet away. The world was already spinning around Peter and as he tried to raise his head to see who was standing above him, it only made him feel more dizzy.

"Poor spider," he heard a voice from above and he couldn't decide whether it was really distorted or it was just his mind playing games with him. He felt weak at the edge of unconsciousness and wasn't sure if he could rely on his senses anymore.

"Help...," Peter groaned and tried to reach out toward whoever was standing there but his arm felt too heavy to move it.

"Shh," the strange voice hushed. It sounded more quiet to Peter, as if he had been a hundred feet from that man. "Save your breath. You're going to need it if you don't want to die right here."

He spoke fluently as if he weren't standing in the middle of a burning building where smoke had totally filled the air.

Peter knew he was trapped under the block of concrete but gathered his remaining strength and turned his head to see the silhouettes of the man standing above him and Peter was sure he was hallucinating because as he drove his gaze to where the man's head was supposed to be he could only see some sort of blue smoke enveloping his face.

"Who are you?" Peter forced talking regardless of the advice he had received. With every word he spoke he was getting closer to losing his consciousness.

"For now I'll let you go." The stranger spoke as if he hadn't heard Peter. "But let this be a warning for you. A warning that there's a price that every hero has to pay. Sooner or later. Don't you worry Spiderman. I'll be back. And until then you'd better remember the name of Mysterio."

Peter found his voice rather irritating, even in his semi-conscious state.

"Shut...up." Peter tried to silence him but he wasn't even sure if his weak, almost inaudible voice could be heard.

He could hear Mysterio laugh sarcastically at his remark but he didn't respond so Peter could book another success at leaving a villain speechless. Mysterio stood there in silence for a couple more seconds and then he slowly and leisurely walked away, leaving Peter laying alone in the debris, surrounded by deathly flames.

Peter couldn't tell how long he had been on the ground. His mind was clouded and the only thing that kept him awake was the face of Gwen Stacy in his mind. He knew he mustn't black out because that could mean he would never wake up again. He needed to look her in the eye and tell her everything was going to be alright.

An infinity later he could hear distant voices getting closer to him. He opened his eyes and saw the figures of three man leaning above him. He felt and the heavy weight of the broken piece of the ceiling was moved from his back and he couldn't breathe as the pain in his back reached his brain. He heard reassuring voices, telling him to stay awake and it was enough for Peter to know he was not going to die being consumed by flames. He gave up fighting and closed his eyes, drifting away into unconsciousness.

* * *

Peter opened his eyes to see the ceiling of an ambulance. He tried to sit up but the insufferable headache that attacked him made him fall back on the stretcher.

"Easy, mister. You're not in the condition to get up, yet."

Peter turned his head toward the doctor sitting in the ambulance with him. He immediately realized the situation and touched his face to see that he wasn't wearing his mask.

"It's alright." The doctor spoke again. "We had to remove the mask to provide a free way for the breathing tube. You have swallowed a lot of smoke. It was important to get fresh oxygen into your system. You should be glad you haven't received more serious injuries."

Peter slowly sat up fighting the headache and removed the breathing tube from his mouth. He searched the ambulance with his look to find his mask on an empty seat next to the door of the cabin.

"How long have I been out?" His voice was still weak but at least he could hear it.

"An hour. It's normal in these cases. I repeat, it could have been worse," the doctor said helpfully. He saw where Peter was looking and reached for the mask, handing it to him.

"Thanks." Peter said and took it from the doctor but didn't pull it on.

"Don't worry. Nobody has seen your face. Well, except me. I made sure to remove your mask only after you had been inside the ambulance. It's quite a thing that I'm among the very few people to have seen the face under the mask but I won't tell anyone." The doctor answered Peter's unvoiced question.

"Thank you." Peter repeated forcing a thankful smile on his face.

"My name is David." The doctor reached out his hand toward Peter.

He was hesitant at first.

"You know I wouldn't..." Peter said, trying to find the most honest yet respectful way of telling that he wasn't going to tell his name.

"You don't have to tell me your name." David said understandingly. "I understand the concept of the mask."

"Yeah." Peter finally shook David's hand. "It's nice to meet you, David."

"You know I have a son, Peter. He's eleven and he's a huge fan of you." David said as they released each other's hand.

"Nice name." Peter smiled. He felt that his headache had subsided enough for him to move without falling to the ground.

He stood up and erected as much as the height of the cabin let him. He moved to the back of the ambulance and stopped for a moment, turning back to David.

"Thank you for your help. And tell Peter I say hi."

With that Peter pulled his mask on and reached for the door handle.

"You can't-" David tried to stop him but Peter opened the door of the ambulance and jumped out of the moving vehicle. David moved closer to the door to see Spiderman shoot a web out of his wrist and swing away in the opposite direction the car was moving.

Peter swung back to the restaurant where he had left his backpack. He landed on the rooftop next to the marquee and after taking his bag he sat down on the ledge, this time turning inside toward the building. He removed his mask as he always would and unzipped his backpack, searching for his cell phone. Once he had found it he checked the time to learn that it was 1:25 am. He quickly dialed Gwen's number and lifted the phone to his ear. He wanted to call Gwen and ask her if he could go over for the night. He wanted to be with her. He _needed _to. She didn't pick up and after the tenth ring Peter ended the call. No wonder she didn't answer at this time of the night. Peter sunk his cell back into his bag and after swinging it to his back he pulled his mask on and took off, heading home.


	10. Chapter Ten

The next day Gwen didn't see Peter in school. They had three classes together but his seat remained empty in all of them. Though it wasn't unusual for him to miss some classes, this time she still worried about him more.  
When Gwen woke up in the morning and checked her phone she saw the missed call from Peter. She felt guilty for not picking up, although she couldn't have possibly known he was calling. He might have had something important to tell her. He might have needed help. She felt like somehow indirectly it was her fault if he had gotten hurt.

After last period Gwen walked to her locker and placed her books inside as she always did. She knew her day still wasn't over because the debate team was going to have a meeting. She didn't feel like going. She would have much rather gone to Peter's place to see how he was but then she wouldn't be back in time. She could still call him though.

She closed the door of her locker to see a pair of bright green eyes looking at her.

"Hey, Gwen, do you want to go shopping? The new winter collection is amazing."

"Thanks, MJ, but not now. I have, uh, something to do," Gwen replied with her phone in her hand. She had already dialed Peter's number and now she had to end the call even before he picked up.

Mary Jane was Gwen's closest friend or at least she was the one Gwen spent most of her free time with. She would have liked to hang out with her; when she was with MJ she felt 'cooler' than she actually was. But today she had more important things than spending time with her friend doing some shopping.

"You sure?" The red haired girl asked.

"Yeah, sorry." Gwen apologized. "It's really not a good time."

"Well, see you later then." MJ nodded and sent her a friendly smile.

Gwen returned it and watched as Mary Jane walked away probably to find someone else she could drag with herself to the plaza.

As Gwen stepped out of the building a blinding ray of the sun attacked her eye. She instinctively winked and lifted one hand in front of her eyes. A few seconds later as her eyes had adjusted to the sunlight she lowered her hand and it was when she spotted the figure she could never miss. She turned her head to get a full view of Peter Parker sitting on the round shaped table with his feet on the bench where others usually sat. It was the table that she proudly claimed hers since she was the one who sat there every day either eating her lunch or doing her homework or just simply reading a book.

Peter saw her looking at him and lifted his arm in the air, waving for her to join him. He had his hood on so Gwen couldn't see the details of his face..

"I'm sorry I didn't pick up last night." Gwen apologized when she had come into earshot, not giving Peter a chance to say anything.

He stood up and removed the hood and it was when Gwen saw the dark patches on his face. She reached up and gently touched his face looking at the unmistakable burn marks. He winced at her touch and she pulled away.

"What happened yesterday?" She asked.

"It no big deal. It was just a fire."

She could tell that he wasn't telling the truth. She knew him well enough to tell.

"What happened?" Gwen tried again.

"Can we not talk about this?" Peter tried to drop the subject.

"What happened?" She pushed, this time firmly, demanding an answer.

Peter didn't say anything just stood there in front of her silently, his gaze fixed on hers, some kind of depressive gloom reflecting in his eyes. She gave him time to answer but in opposition to her expectations he remained silent.

"Peter, wha-"

"I almost died!" Peter exclaimed angrily and took a step back, sitting back onto the table.

Gwen was startled by his unexpected outburst and those who were near stopped and turned their heads toward them but when they saw there was no action anywhere they continued whatever they were doing.

"Peter," she breathed out his name with a terrified look on her face.

Peter bowed his head once again. He knew how she would react and he couldn't bare to see the the fright and anger in her eyes.

"I'm sorry." He muttered, with his eyes on the ground. He shouldn't have reacted the way he did but it was a subject he felt uncomfortable talking about.

"Please, tell me what happened." Gwen asked this time with a softer, quieter tone. She sat down next to him and placed a hand on his shoulder as a sign of support.

"It was scary." He started to explain then after a short second of hesitation he decided to continue. "I went inside that building to help those who had been trapped. Then the ceiling fell on me and knocked me to the ground. The heat was suffocating and I wanted to move but I, I just couldn't. And then-" he went silent before he finished the sentence.

"Then what?"

"I don't know. The heat and the smoke...I might have been hallucinating." Peter shook his head, unsure of what he had seen and heard was real.

"What did you see?" Gwen kept asking patiently.

"I'm not sure. There was someone. In the flames. He was standing there beside me and, and he warned me." Gwen could see on Peter's face that he was confused, that he himself had doubts about the whole story.

"He warned you? About what?" What Peter told her really sounded strange and unbelievable but Gwen trusted him and more importantly she supported him.

"He said he would come back for me."

His last words frightened her and no matter if what Peter had seen was real or just a hallucination, she believed him.

"Does it hurt?" She asked looking at his face. She assumed his whole body was covered with the same kind of marks.

"No, it's fine." He lied and sent a smile trying to convince her. "As long as you won't keep touching it, I'm totally fine."

She was glad to hear that joyful edge in his voice and she allowed herself to relax a bit. He really did look fine.

"It's okay. You're okay and that's the only thing that matters." Her hand traveled to Peter's back, slowly caressing it.

"Thanks." Peter looked at Gwen and his loving smile had returned to his face.

"For what?"

"Being here for me." His voice was soft and though Gwen had heard it a million times there was still something special about it, something that she couldn't explain with words but something she loved.

"I'm always here for you." She whispered and took her hand from his back so she could move closer to him and she laid her head on his shoulder.

They sat there in silence until the whole campus had been empty. Their minds had taken separate paths to different places but the mere presence of the other made them relax and forget everything and everyone around them.

After a time that could have been a minute or an hour as well Gwen noticed a lonely snowflake descend onto the tip of her nose, causing a ticklish feeling. She reached to her nose to wipe away the snowflake that her body heat had turned into water the moment it touched her skin. The first one was followed by another and soon they were surrounded by millions of delicately falling fluffy white flakes.

Gwen suddenly jumped up and disappeared behind Peter.

"Hey, where are you going?" He asked but no answer came.

He twisted his body so that he could see what Gwen was up to and found a snowball flying through the air toward him. Even his spider reflexes couldn't help him dodge it. The collision came so unexpectedly that it knocked Peter off the bench with his face into the snow. He could hear Gwen's raucous voice as she laughed at his misfortune.

He blinked away the melted ice from his eyes and put his arms behind him, pushing himself to a sitting position. For the first moment the cold water hurt against his face but then it slowly turned into a refreshing sensation.

"That was _very_ not fair." Peter complained but it only made Gwen enjoy herself more.

She walked over to him, wiping the remains of the snow off her hands. She stopped in front of him and reached out, offering him a hand to help him up.

"I'm sorry. I promise I'll be careful not to hurt you." She said, still waiting for him to take her hand.

She couldn't see Peter's hands behind his back therefore she had no idea that he had already been planning his revenge. When his hands appeared it had already been too late, he threw the snowball he was holding at her. Gwen was staggered by the hit and it gave Peter just enough time to stand up and start running toward the streets.

"Oh, you!" Gwen exclaimed and bent down for another handful of snow. She followed Peter, forming the next icy ball in her hands.

"You can run but you can't get away." She warned Peter, playful revenge shining in her eyes.

Peter slowed down and intentionally let Gwen get closer to him. Gwen welcomed his invitation and immediately threw the snowball. He quit running and stooped down with his hands lifted defensively to his head, hoping she would miss him but he had no such luck and the snowball exploded on his back. Before he could have thought about throwing a ball back at her another one hit him, this time from much closer. Peter kept his balance so he didn't fall this time.

"Okay, I give up." He turned back toward Gwen.

She was holding another snowball over her head and was about to launch it at Peter but she lowered her hand as she saw him surrender.

"Good choice." She said pompously and dropped the ball into the snow, letting it merge into the soft white blanket on the ground.

She saw Peter's smile fade away and she knew that the fun was over. Before she could have asked what was wrong she heard it; police sirens still in the distance but they were getting closer by the minute. Peter opened his mouth to speak but he thought better of it and whatever he wanted to say was kept inside. He knew she had had enough of his apologies.

"I have to go."

She looked away, she didn't want him to see her eyes. Why did something have to happen when they were starting to have a moment?

"Sure." She mumbled, obviously dejected.

Peter didn't say anything; further talking would only make the situation worse. He headed toward the school entrance and he took the stairs with one single leap, disappearing behind the doors.

In less than a minute he opened the window of a classroom not far from the entrance and he pushed himself into the air in his red and blue spandex suit.

Gwen watched him move on nearby rooftops and when he had reached taller buildings where he could shoot his webs to he joined the police cruisers from the air.

"I hate you, Spiderman." She said, her words fraught with honest antipathy.

She walked back to the table to get her bag and regretted that she said no to shopping with MJ earlier.

When Peter arrived at the spot he saw a dozen or so policemen surrounding a person in black. Peter saw the unmistakable leather suit and white hair and knew it was the Black Cat that the police had caught. He saw they were holding guns at her, forcing her to her knees. She slowly placed the bag she was holding to the ground and she lifted her hands above her head. He felt like had to do something.

_I don't know why I'm doing this_, Peter thought as he swung toward the circle of police officers.

He descended to five-six feet above the ground and reached his arm out toward her. He saw her flash a naughty smile toward the officers as she simply stood up with her hands still above her head, regardless of the guns pointing at her. When Peter reached her she caught his arm and he swung by without stopping, taking the Black Cat with him. The whole thing happened in a swift second and the officers didn't even have time to react. The best they could do was send a couple of desperate shots after them but bullets missed their targets.

After a few blocks of swinging Peter deemed that they had gotten far enough so he landed on a rooftop and let go of his passenger.

"What is wrong with you?" Peter asked angrily. "Calling attention to yourself in the middle of daylight? Are you really this stupid?"

Peter didn't know where the sudden care for her had come from but something was telling him that the Black Cat wasn't as bad as it would first seem.

"Why? I knew you would come." She answered easily. She was obviously not very concerned about the situation.

"How? Why would you count on something like that? Why would you do any of this in the first place?" Peter was more upset about her than what the situation would explain and it only made him even more upset.

"Fun." She said with such calm and confidence as if it were an unquestionable reason. "And, to prove that you like me."

"Like you?" Peter laughed with disbelief. "I don't even know you."

"And yet you saved me." She pointed out and crossed her arms across her chest.

Peter could feel as she pulled her brows up under her mask. He hated to admit but she had a point. He sighed resignedly as he couldn't give an explanation.

"Just don't do it again because I won't be there to help." Peter said and turned his back to her, taking a step toward the ledge.

"I'll be seeing you." She called after him as he stepped off of the rooftop.

Peter headed back to the school hoping to find Gwen still there but when he arrived he couldn't see her. There were only a couple of student leaving the school after their extracurriculars, the campus was otherwise empty. He crawled back inside the building through a window, careful not to be seen as he tried to avoid unwanted attention. His bag was laying in the corner of the classroom, right where he had left it. He quickly changed back into his clothes and took his phone, dialing Gwen's number. The phone rang four times and then it sent him to Gwen's voicemail. Peter ended the call when he heard Gwen's voice telling him to leave a message.

"I hate you, Cat." He mumbled angrily and punched the wall next to him with his fist.


	11. Chapter Eleven

Next day after school Peter went straight home. Gwen had to take care of her younger brothers once again so their plans on spending the afternoon together were ruined and he had a few hours of free time.

First he thought of skateboarding, learning some new tricks but realized he wasn't in the mood so he decided to take his photos to the Daily Bugle and bag a few bucks for them.

When he arrived home he sent a quick 'hi' to his aunt as he crossed the hallway toward the stairs. She told him what he could be expecting to have for dinner and he said 'ok' without actually thinking about whether he liked it or not.

He shut the door behind him and threw his backpack on the floor, hopping into his chair. He pulled himself to his computer and drove the cursor over the folder with the photos of Spiderman in it. He had been planning on touching up the pictures and taking them to the Daily Bugle but so far he just hadn't been able to get down to it. He didn't have to worry though, there was no one that could take better photos of Spiderman than he.

First Peter scrolled through the twenty-four images he had. There were a couple photos that turned out a little blurry so he deleted those and selected the ones that were worth spending time with. There were eleven pictures he decided to use. He did some color correction on them, set the contrast and saturation. It wasn't too long of a process, he had been ready in twenty minutes and clicked on the print button. After the printer had given out the photos he placed them in a simple brown envelope and headed back downstairs.

"Be back for dinner," Aunt May called after him when she heard Peter storm through the hallway once again.

"Alright," Peter said as he grabbed his coat and headed out.

* * *

It took him a good fifty minutes by train to get to Midtown Manhattan but still it was the fastest way considering that he didn't want to pay for a cab. He exited the subway and saw the huge building tower above him. He had never really wondered of working at such a huge and determinative newspaper like the Daily Bugle but now that he actually seemed to have a chance of getting in, it was closer than ever.

The life inside the building was almost the same as he had imagined. Busy people walking everywhere either telling others what to do or doing what they had been told. Silence was probably an unknown term for the workers of the Bugle and so was boredom. The restless noise of keyboard clattering, the smell of fresh ink on paper and the simultaneous voices of talking people surrounding Peter really made him start thinking about being a photographer for the paper.

He took the elevator to the fifteenth floor where he was told he would find the office of John Jonah Jameson, the editor-in-chief. It wasn't hard to spot the door of his office as there was a rather over sized golden plate on it with the name of the editor shining blindingly.

"Excuse me young man, can I help you?" A woman's voice asked when Peter was about to touch the doorknob.

First he wasn't sure that the question was addressed to him but then he realized that he could have been the only one referred to as a young man who needed help. He turned to the direction of the voice to meet the eyes of a brunette girl sitting behind a computer screen at a table next to Jameson's office. She couldn't have been much older than Peter, there were probably three or four years between them. Her wavy hair shined brightly, the ends resting gently on her shoulders. Her dark, hazel eyes matched the color of her hair and the wide, welcoming smile revealed her perfect white teeth. She looked beautiful but Peter quickly erased every inappropriate thought from his mind even before they could have appeared.

"I, uh, I'm here to see Mr. Jameson." Peter took a step toward the girl and lifted the envelope in his hand.

"May I ask why?" She asked.

"I saw the advertisement in the paper about the Spiderman photos." Peter explained.

"Oh. You're not the first one." The girl said as her smile grew wider. From her look Peter assumed that the ones before him hadn't been too successful and his presumption gained confirmation in her next words. "I must tell you that not too many of the enthusiastically arriving candidates actually left enthusiastically."

"I'll take my chances." Peter said confidently, not backing down.

"Sure." She said enchantedly, her eyes lingering on Peter for a few seconds.

"So, could you, uh," Peter started, pointing at Jameson's door.

"Yeah," she answered and after allowing herself one more look at his face she reached for the phone on her table.

Peter waited patiently as she lifted the receiver to her ear and pressed a button that probably put her through to Jameson.

"Mr. Jameson, another one for the Spiderman photo ad." She informed her boss and looked back at Peter while she waited for his response.

"Okay." She finally said and placed the receiver back to its place. "Mr. Jameson is waiting for you."

"Thank you." Peter said and sent a thankful smile toward the girl then turned around and headed for the door.

He turned the knob and opened the door without knocking and entered the office. It was comfortably spacious but there weren't too many objects that could have served as decoration. There was a tall plant in the corner of the room; its highest leaves even touched the ceiling. There were some file drawers in the office and a huge glass table to Peter's left, in front of one of the three windows of the room.

Behind the desk sat J. Jonah Jameson holding a cigar in his mouth. He was probably in his early fifties, and had a recognizable mustache and flat top hair that was already starting to turn gray.

"Didn't your mother teach you how to knock?" Jameson asked obnoxiously without taking his cigar out of his mouth.

"I'm sorry, I was told-" Peter started to explain but he was firmly cut off by the editor-in-chief.

"Who are you?" He demanded as if he hadn't noticed that Peter was talking to him. Peter wondered how a man with such behavior could lead a newspaper.

"My name is Peter-"

"Give me that." Jameson interrupted once more and reached out toward Peter's envelope.

Peter gritted his teeth and tried hard to keep himself from snapping back at Jameson. He only met him a minute ago but he already knew he wasn't going to like him.  
Peter took a step forward and handed him his envelope. Jameson snatched it from Peter and opened it, pulling out the letter sized photos. Peter stuck his hands into the pockets of his coat and watched as Jameson checked the pictures.

He silently placed the photos on his table, one after another and Peter could see no emotion on the editor's face, neither satisfaction nor discontent, and it made him nervous. Jameson examined the photos thoroughly, totally ignoring the nervous Peter Parker standing in front of his desk. When he had checked every photo and all of them were lying on his table, he picked up a few again to take an umpteenth look at them. Peter's patience was growing thin and he started tapping his right foot against the ground nervously.

Jameson finally dropped the pictures back onto the table and leaned back in his chair, driving his look to Peter. When Peter saw it he let go of his impatience in a form of a deep sigh. His foot stopped and he placed his legs slightly apart from each other, waiting for Jameson to speak.

"I admit they're better than the ones I've had so far." He finally spoke without a single trace of appreciation in his tone.

"Well, thank you." Peter said, glad to hear those words from Jameson's mouth. He could tell the editor wasn't usually giving away compliments.

"I'm not saying they're good." He warned, bringing Peter's hopes crashing to the ground.

Peter carried his thoughts further and wondered how a man with such morale could _live_ at all. Peter didn't try to convince him, he knew it would be just a waste of time. He simply took the pictures from Jameson's table and without placing them back into the envelope he turned around, heading for the door.

This whole 'taking pictures of myself and make a living out of it' was too perfect to be true, Peter thought as he reached for the doorknob.

"Wait," he heard Jameson's harsh voice. He rested his hand on the knob but didn't move it and turned back to the annoying man wondering what he wanted. Jameson removed his cigar for the first time since Peter's arrival. "What did you say your name was?"

"I never had the chan-" Peter started without trying to hide his antipathy toward him but then he realized that there would be no use in making the man angry. He sighed and continued evenly. "It's Peter Parker."

"I'll give a hundred bucks for the photos, Parker." Jameson offered and ripped a cheque from the block on his table, writing the sum on it.

"Four hundred." Peter haggled over the price, confidently demanding a fourfold increase in the amount of money he had been offered.

"Four hundred?!" Jameson laughed sarcastically at the idea. "What the hell are you thinking?"

Peter's ridiculous demand left the smile on Jameson's face as he stared at Peter.

"I'm thinking that hardly anybody can get photos of Spiderman like these." He waved the photos in the air to Jameson, keeping his voice calm. "So either you pay or I'm outta here. There must be a dozen papers waiting for these pictures. "

Jameson's face immediately turned serious at Peter's words.

"Fine. Four hundred." He finally agreed, disgusted even by the idea of paying so much for someone who had just stepped through his door. "But don't get too comfortable. Take it as an early Christmas gift."

Jameson crumpled the first, hundred dollar cheque in his hand and threw it into the trash beside his desk. He then took another one and scribbled the right amount of money on it. When he was ready he tossed the pen on the table and reached out the small piece of paper toward Peter. He released the doorknob and walked back to Jameson's table. He placed the photos back in front of Jameson and took the cheque in exchange.

"The lady outside will pay you." Jameson told Peter reluctantly.

Peter looked at him, letting him know he understood and left the office without another word, leaving the grumpy editor alone. He didn't even care to ask if he had gotten the job or not; after the encounter with Jameson, he wouldn't even mind if he hadn't.

He walked to the girl who had stopped him earlier and placed the cheque in front of her. She looked honestly surprised at it and her eyes grew even wider when she saw how much Peter got for the pictures. She looked up at Peter with a charming smile.

"Congratulations. You're the first one to get that much for the first time here." She said and handed Peter the money. Peter took it but the girl kept her arm reached out toward him. "I'm Betty Brant."

Peter shook hands with her. "Peter Parker. Nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you, too." There was something in Betty's voice that made Peter feel uncomfortable.

"Thank you." Peter said to her and placed the money in the inside pocket of his coat. He sent Betty another hesitant smile and headed for the elevator.

As Peter took the train home he was thinking about the four hundred dollars that were laying in his pocket. He was really surprised that a man this stubborn could be liable to bargaining. He hated Jameson and was pretty sure that it would stay that way for a very long time but maybe working for him as a freelance photographer would pay for him both literally and figuratively.

* * *

"So, how was your day?" Aunt May asked at dinner.

She made peppered strip steak and Peter was glad that he had said 'ok' earlier to something he actually liked.

"Fine." He said after placing a piece of meat in his mouth. "I made four hundred dollars."

Aunt May's mouth eyes widened and her mouth would have surely dropped open, had it not been full of food. "Four hundred? How?" She asked after swallowing the bite.

"I saw an advertisement in the paper. They needed some photos and I made them." Peter explained enthusiastically, leaving out the part that the photos were of Spiderman on purpose.

"You took photos of Spiderman, right?" It seemed like either she could read his mind or she had also seen that advertisement and Peter thought that the latter was more probable.

"Yes, I have. I was the first whose photos were accepted." Peter told her proudly.

"Congratulations." She finally said what Peter wanted to hear. "But you do know that you have an unfair advantage, right?"

Peter's body froze at the exact same words Gwen had used before, his fork hovered halfway from his plate to his mouth.

"Advantage?" He asked pretending to not know what she was referring to but he was almost a hundred percent sure that she knew he was Spiderman.

"Well, I mean you're a talented photographer. It was only a matter of time before someone in higher places discovered that." Aunt May said with an elusive smile on her face.

Life returned into Peter as his presumptions had been proven wrong. "Thanks, Aunt May. It means a lot."

She didn't say anything, just turned her look to her plate, trying to hide her smile from Peter. He somewhat relaxed that his secret was still safe and resumed moving his fork to his mouth, taking another bite of the delicious steak.


	12. Chapter Twelve

Peter dreamed about the bank fire at night. He relived the whole situation with its every detail; lying on the floor in the dust covered with debris, unable to move. The man in black, one who called himself Mysterio was there two, towering above Peter, warning him that their encounter was not the last one.  
The whole dream was as vivid as real life, only this time it turned out differently in the end. Mysterio didn't leave, he stood there silently, looking down at Peter as he was gasping for air in the suffocating heat. The flames slowly reached Peter and they soaked through the spandex, causing him a sharp, stabbing, unbearable pain once again. He desperately wished for the firemen to arrive and save his life but they never did. He wanted to scream but he couldn't breathe and no matter how hard he tried no sound left his open mouth. He didn't want to give in, he tried to fight but there wasn't any strength left in him and there was nothing he could do to save himself. He lied there helplessly waiting for the flames to consume him and suck every last bit of life out of him. Peter knew the end was near. It was hard but finally he put up with his situation and closed his eyes and laid his life in the hands of fate, waiting for it to pass sentence.

Peter's eyes popped open. At first he didn't know where he was and it took him a couple of seconds to come back to reality and recognize the silhouettes of his own room in the dark. He was lying in his bed breathing heavily, with his whole body covered in sweat. He slowly snapped out of the effect of his dream and as his breathing finally evened he turned his head toward the nightstand to check the time. The glowing green numbers on the display showed 5:57.

It was already too late to fall back asleep so Peter got out of bed and made his way into the bathroom. As he switched the lights on he had to squint at first but his eyes quickly adjusted to the brightness. He walked to the sink and washed his face with cool water. It was refreshing and it also erased the remains of sleepiness from his mind.

He walked to the hallway, still in his pajamas to check if Aunt May had still been sleeping but the door of her room was closed and there were no noises coming from either part of the house so Peter assumed that she was sleeping indeed.

He went back to his room and opened the shades but it was only the dim yellow light of the nearby street lamps that filtered through the glass. He still had an hour left until he would usually get up and he wanted to pass that time doing something constructive. He considered going out on patrol but he figured his aunt wouldn't be too happy to not find him home when she woke up. She would be pretty pissed in fact. He didn't want to get into another fight with his aunt so he gave up on the idea of going out. Instead, he turned to his computer and switched it on. He sat down and watched as the screen lighted up and listened to the almost inaudible buzzing of the booting computer. It was an everyday routine and even when he didn't use the PC before leaving for school he would turn it on just to see a photo of Gwen and him set as his desktop background.

It was his favorite picture of them even though they didn't have too many to choose from. He remembered exactly the night he took this photo.

_They were in Gwen's room and she was cleaning the wounds on his chest that were caused by the Lizard as it drove its claws across his chest. It hurt as the fabric of the towel touched his skin but he didn't let it show. He wanted to be strong in front of Gwen. He need her. He just wanted to get away with her and forget about the Lizard, about the bounty on his head, about the loss of Uncle Ben, about everything. Just one night.  
_

_"Let's get out of here." He said, lifting her chin with his hand, looking deep into her eyes so that she knew he meant it.  
_

_"Let's just get out of here." He repeated and waved his head playfully. She chuckled but didn't answer. "Just for a minute, can we?"  
_

_Her smile immediately disappeared. "No."  
_

_"Yeah." He replied immediately as if he had known she wouldn't agree.  
_

_"No."  
_

_"Yes." He pushed. He needed this. "Yes."  
_

_"No. If my parents see me leaving, I'm dead."  
_

_She wanted it, too and Peter could feel it. He knew it from her wishful look. He also understood her concerns but he knew a way.  
_

_"Your parents aren't gonna see you leaving."  
_

_Gwen knew what he meant and she admitted it was a good idea. It was the only way, actually. And also, she had been wanting to know what it felt like swinging around the city a dozen feet above the ground. She nodded and it was all the confirmation Peter needed. He pulled on his black t-shirt and moved out to the fire escape Gwen following him.  
_

_"Hold on tight." He said and laid an arm around her waist.  
_

_She entwined her fingers around his neck and they stepped off of the platform.  
_

_They found the perfect spot on the top of a tower, high above the city. The huge round shaped panel of the clock next to them shined with its mild, yellow light and with the whole of Manhattan below them the view was just beautiful.  
_

_"Hey, how about we make our first picture." Peter said and searched in his backpack, pulling out his camera.  
_

_"Hear?" Gwen laughed unbelievingly. "Whoever sees it will ask how we got up here."  
_

_"Nobody will see it. This will be our secret." Peter said softly, but confidently.  
_

_He got up and placed the camera so that the sky and city would be in the background and after setting the timer he sat back beside Gwen. She pressed herself against his body with her head in the crook of his neck and the light of the camera flashed, perpetuating the moment for the rest of their lives.  
_

It was the only night they had spent together so far, apart from the half-successful dinner at Gwen's.

Once the computer had started up he reached for the mouse and made circular motions with his hand, doing rounds with the cursor on the screen aimlessly. He went through the icons on the screen but he didn't click on any of them. Finally he sighed and released the mouse, dropping his hand on the table with a thud. He rocked himself from side to side in his chair, trying to figure out how to make time pass quicker.

As there was nothing better he could come up with, Peter decided to take a look at Quentin Beck's documents even though he was entirely sure that there would be nothing that could take him forward in the case. He and even Gwen had gone through the folder analyzing every line, every data, every single bit of its content and Peter was sure that nothing new had magically appeared since.

Still, he stopped the chair and turned to the left side of his desk where he had put the folder. To his greatest surprise that corner of the table was empty; there was no trace of the plain black folder with the documents in it and there wasn't even any evidence that would have proven that it had even been there.

A slight amount of panic overcame Peter. He checked the papers and books on the table hoping he would find the folder under one of them. After he hadn't, he checked the drawers also without any success. He went back to his desktop, hopelessly going through the carelessly thrown papers once again.

"Damn it." He whispered. He sank back into his chair, staring blankly at the computer screen. He was sure he had put it right there on the desk but facts had proven him otherwise.

He closed his eyes and recalled as many of the documents' content as he could. Most of them came back but of course he didn't know what he had forgotten for the very simple reason that he had forgotten them. He couldn't relax so he opened his eyes and leaned forward toward the monitor, grabbed the mouse and took the pointer to the icon of the web browser. He opened the search engine and typed in 'Mysterio'. As the list of results appeared he couldn't find what he was looking for, only a professional wrestler that went by the name of Rey Mysterio. Peter wasn't hoping for much more but still he hoped to find some little piece of information or something about Spiderman's newest enemy. He was curious where that man came from and what he wanted from him. Or Spiderman, to be exact.

From the corner of his eye he could see as the street lamps were shut off and as he turned his head to the window he could see that the sun had began its trip to the sky and its first rays had cast their light on the neighborhood. He looked at his clock that now showed 6:42. It didn't feel like forty minutes since he had last checked time but he was grateful it had been. He stood from the chair and walked to the window. He didn't open it as he was sure it was too cold outside to do so. He just stood there with his hands against the frame of the window, watching the empty street. Snow must have fallen at night because the road and the sidewalks were covered with a fresh layer of snow and there weren't any footprints or tire tracks; the white blanket was perfectly untouched.

Peter decided to set the day in motion and went back to the bathroom to do the everyday things he usually did in the mornings those being taking a shower, brushing his teeth and giving his usually badly disheveled hair an acceptable look. With a towel around his waist he walked back to his room and took some clothes out of his closet. As he was getting clothed he heard as Aunt May's door opened and luckily that meant that the morning was going to speed up.

* * *

Peter met Gwen after third period in school. Actually it was _her_ who found him. She pushed the people from her way as she hurried to catch up to him in the hallway. Once she had fallen in steps with him she laid a hand on his shoulder to get his attention. He turned to her and immediately spotted the black folder he had been searching for in her hands.

"Where the hell did you get that?" He asked a little bit too sharply. He didn't want to offend her on purpose but it was a bit frustrating to find out that she had the documents all along.

"Hey, easy, Petey. Hello to you, too." Gwen snapped at him but in a less offensive way, still firmly enough for him to realize the impropriety of his unprovoked obnoxious behavior.

"About your folder," she continued and lifted it in front of her. "You left it at my place that evening I beat you at Scrabble." She was hoping that playfully mocking him would put him to a better mood.

"Oh, right." The sudden anger disappeared from his features the moment he understood that it wasn't her fault that he couldn't find Beck's documents. He didn't really know why he had gotten so furious about the missing folder in the first place.

"Thanks for bringing it," he added and forced a half-smile on his face.

She returned it and handed the folder over to Peter. "Yeah. I also did some investigation. When I had found the folder in my room I thought I'd help and I took it to OsCorp. I figured that whoever had left that box on the floor that night, he might have touched the folder or any of the documents in it in which case he had left his fingerprints on it. Unfortunately they didn't let me into my lab since I'm not working there anymore but I managed to get some help from a friend of mine who I used to work with and he did the analysis for me. The results are on top." She told him and pointed at the folder now in Peter's hands.

Peter was caught by surprise, she could see the admission on his face and that little thing managed to lighten up her day by itself.

"Wow, that's, that's amazing, Gwen. Thank you." His smile turned into a more honest one as he spoke.

"You're welcome. Besides we're a team, remember?" Peter could see her eyes sparkle as she spoke and felt as a certain atmosphere filled the air around them and he knew she felt it too.

He opened his mouth to respond, to tell her again that their team was the best but the noise of the bell warned them of the end of the break. The clatter of shutting lockers filled the hallway and every student headed to their classroom to make sure they wouldn't be late. The moment quickly passed and Peter closed his mouth. He cracked another friendly smile.

"See ya." He finally managed and turned around and headed for his next class.

_Good guy, Petey, you won't be late for once_, Gwen thought and watched until Peter's figure had fully disappeared among the crowd of students.

* * *

Peter waited until he got home after school and only then did he open the folder to get a look at Gwen's results of the fingerprint analysis. He sat down on his bed and laid the folder on his lap. As he opened it the first thing he saw was a small not on top of the documents and he immediately recognized Gwen's handwriting. He lifted the note and read the text on it.

_I think I've found something that might help.  
Love, Gwen _

There was a drawn heart next to her name and it made Peter smile. He had the best girlfriend ever.

He put the note beside him on the bed and then returned to the paper of Gwen's research. He ran through the unnecessary and irrelevant data and at the bottom of the page he found what he was looking for. He read the result of the analysis and and was utterly surprised to see the name printed on the paper.

_Quentin Beck. _

At first he wasn't surprised to see someone's fingerprints on his own documents but he realized that Beck was fired two months ago and the frequent contacts surely would have wiped away Beck's fingerprints if he he had touched the folder before he was fired. The facts that the fingerprints were still visible meant that Beck must have left them after he had been fired. As Peter kept thinking slowly it all started to make sense.

Beck was fired and he was so bitter and angry that he returned to the office and took his own blueprints. The reason was yet unclear to Peter but he assumed Beck stole the plans so that nobody could use his ideas. It was all hypothesis at that point but this fingerprint was one step forward. A big one.

Peter felt his phone vibrate in his pocket so he put the documents aside. He checked the screen and pressed the 'answer' button when he saw it was Gwen calling.

"Hey." He greeted.

"Hi. So, have you checked what I've found?" He heard the impatient voice.

"Yeah. Nice shot, teammate." Peter said as a compliment.

"Don't you find it a little bit strange of a coincidence? I think Beck _is _in connection with the break-in to the office. In fact, I think he was the one to steal the plans." Gwen explained with an extreme amount of excitement in her voice.

"Yeah, I think so, too. But we don't have any incontestable evidence." Peter told her before she would go far ahead with the thought.

"So we should find some." She told him.

"If you're so determined, where do you suggest we should start?"

"That's simple." She said glibly. "We should find out more about Beck. And once we have, we will talk to him."

"And how are you planning on finding him exactly?" Peter asked, interested in her plans.

"How about his family?" She suggested.

"Would be good," Peter paused there for a moment. "If we knew where they lived."

Gwen couldn't answer to that at first. She hadn't quite thought that far.

"You're right. But it seemed to be a goo-"

"Wait." Peter cut her off as a thought crossed his mind. "We could visit Wonder Studios again."

He wanted to continue but couldn't as this time it was Gwen who interrupted him. "But they said they didn't keep track of their past employees."

"They said they don't know where he is now. But that doesn't mean they don't have a record of where he lived when he was working at the studio. If we found out it would be a good start." Peter explained. He was getting pretty agitated about the situation as well. "I'll call them for another appointment."

"Ok. Call me if you're finished." Gwen sounded just as excited as him.

"I will." He promised. "Bye, Gwen."

"Bye." She said and ended the call.

Peter didn't waste too much time. He went to the computer and quickly looked up the number of Wonder Studios. He found it at the bottom of their website and he entered it in his cell. It rang twice before they answered.

"Wonder Studios." A male voice said.

"Hi. It's Peter Parker from the Daily Bugle. I visited Mr. Hayes for a quick interview last week with my colleague." Peter told them hoping that aware of this information he would get another appointment easier.

"Yes?" The man waited for him to continue.

"We realized that we had a few more questions and we were hoping that we could arrange another meeting?" Peter asked as polite as he could. He knew it was a lame excuse and not very professional but it was the best he could suddenly come up with.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Parker but Mr. Hayes doesn't want to have any more visitors." The assistant said without any hint of emotion in his voice.

"It would take only a few minutes." Peter pushed.

"I've told you Mr. Hayes does not want any visitors."

"But, it really-" Peter tried but the man hung up on him.

"Damn it." Peter cursed as he moved the cell away from his ear.

He didn't have to think too much to figure out what to do. If they can't get in as reporters, he will get in as Spiderman. He decided to go that night, after the employees had left the office empty. He wanted to call Gwen to inform her but figured that she wouldn't let him go by himself. She had grown quite familiar with them being a team and he was sure she would want to go as well.

"Sorry, Gwen." He sighed. He knew he shouldn't do it but it would be much easier for him to go alone. Peter took one more look at her number and then closed his contacts and put his cell on the table.


	13. Chapter Thirteen

Getting inside the office was easier now than it was for the first time. Peter knew which room he had to look for so it wasn't hard to find. The lights were still on inside when Peter arrived so he had to delay his entrance. He landed on a nearby glass panel where he couldn't be seen from inside and from where he could still see when the room went dark. He turned with his back to the building and leaned against the cold window, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

Waiting outside wasn't too pleasing considering that the temperature was very close to the freezing point and in addition to that the mildly blowing wind didn't help either. Peter was glad that he was provident when choosing the material of his suit so that it would keep him warm in colder times like this. He tried to be patient and wait as long as he had to but as the wind grew stronger and the cold air managed to get through the spandex waiting just became more unpleasant than Peter had previously anticipated. He cast a glance toward the office and when he saw the lights still on he decided to not wait any longer.

He crawled above the right window where he still could not be seen and he knocked on the glass. As he expected a few seconds later a man's figure appeared at the window. He stopped there and looked out into the night examining the view outside, searching for the source of the knocks. What Peter wanted was for the man to open the window so that he could get in without breaking the glass once again. The employee didn't do so, he just stood there for about half a minute and then returned to his work. An exasperated sigh left Peter's mouth as he wasn't quite in the mood of playing games with that man inside the building but he had no other choice. He knocked again, this time louder and waited. The man appeared again, doing the same routine he had done before. After he still couldn't see anything outside he turned his head back and said something to someone in the office Peter couldn't see. He didn't understand what the man was saying, from outside it looked like he was just mouthing the words. Peter was close to give up on his plan on safe entrance when the man turned back toward the glass and reached for the handle. Seeing this Peter mouthed a silent 'thank god' under his mask and prepared himself. He watched still as the window slowly opened and swung into action.

He pushed himself from the wall and shot a biocable back toward the glass and propelled himself into the room. He pushed the window further open with his feet and it hit the man standing behind it. It all happened so quickly that he didn't have time to react and dodge the collision.

Peter landed in the room the same moment the man fell to the floor unconsciously. As he looked around he saw one other person in the office, a young brunette girl facing him from across the room. There was a terrified look on her face mixed with the sudden shock of the unexpected row of actions. She stood there frozen at the door, afraid to make a move. For a moment Peter didn't know what he should do. He didn't want to knock her out too. And considering that if she had wanted to cry for help she would have probably already done so maybe he didn't have to knock her out anyway. He took a small, cautious step forward and gestured with his hand for her to stay calm.

"I don't want to hurt you." Peter said trying to sooth her. "I'm just here to-" His attempt was proven unsuccessful as the girl swiftly turned toward door. Peter reacted quickly and before she could have called for help he had made his way across the room to her and swung his arm toward her head.

"I'm sorry." He whispered as he caught the girl, preventing her body from crumbling to the ground. He really didn't want to hit her, he didn't like hitting women who had done nothing but this time he just had to make an exception.

He thought it would be quite negligent to leave her at the door so he picked her up and carried her to the couch. He carefully laid her down and aligned her body so that when she woke up she wouldn't feel numb and none of her limbs would hurt. He then went to the computer, taking one quick look at the man lying at the open window along the way.

Peter didn't take a seat in case he had to leave rapidly. The PC was turned on and a table with the studio's income and expense balance of the year was opened. At least he knew what the two were working on when he arrived. He closed the spreadsheet application as it wasn't what he needed and dragged the cursor to the start button. He typed 'database' in the search engine and hit enter. To his greatest surprise there were no results found. He deleted the previous text and wrote 'employees' instead. This choice was more successful as a document named 'List of Wonder Studios Employees' appeared. He opened it and searched for Quentin Beck's name but came up with no match.

"What the hell?" He muttered and pressed enter once again. Still nothing.

It was very strange that the data of Beck was missing. As he scrolled through the employees there were a couple people whose status was 'dismissed' so the reason why Beck was missing couldn't be that he was fired. It could be of course a coincidence but Peter couldn't rule out the possibility of someone deleting the file on purpose. Someone who didn't want the ex-special effects designer to be found. He gave it another try and narrowed the search to ex-workers. The list contained about thirty names but Quentin Beck wasn't one of them.

Peter lowered his head and bent over the table, trying to think but he didn't know what else he could do so he found it best to leave as soon as he could before anyone entered the office looking for Mr. and Ms. Unconscious. Although he didn't find what he was looking for he couldn't say he hadn't found anything. With that in mind he straightened and left the room the way he entered.

* * *

Peter literally tried to bury himself in his locker. He ducked his head down and quickly reached for the textbooks he was going to be needing. He felt pathetic as he cowardly tried to avoid one Gwen Stacy but he felt too much guilt about last night not to do so. He knew that if he had to choose again he would do the same thing in order to protect her.

He grabbed his book and shut his locker. As he turned to leave his eyes met another pair of angry looks.

"Uh, hi," he said hesitantly, trying to avoid looking at her. He was grabbing the straps of his backpack tightly as he waited for her reprimand.

"You didn't call last night. And didn't even pick up. I tried to call you six times." Gwen said on an accusatory tone that only made Peter's guilt swell.

"I know, I'm sorry," was all he could manage.

"That's all? You're sorry?" Her tone was now a mix of hurt and anger.

"I..." Peter's mouth dried and he just stood there like an idiot, gaping like a fish as he nervously tried to find the words to apologize.

"You what? You forgot that you told me you would call?" She tried to help him finish.

"No, of course I didn't." He defended himself.

"Then what?" She kept asking curiously.

Peter decided to go all or nothing. He took a deep breath, preparing himself for the upcoming moments which he thought were going to be quite uncomfortable for him.

"I didn't get an appointment. They said they didn't want any reporters sniffing around so there was no other way to get in than as Spiderman."

Hearing that her features became more relaxed and it served as an encouraging sign for him to continue.

"I'm really sorry I didn't call. I just thought you would be mad if I wanted you to stay at home and leave it to me."

"Maybe I would have." She spoke after considering his explanation. "At first, anyway. But I get it. I can't be of much help in a situation like this." Her words dispelled the remains of fear in Peter.

"You're not mad?" He asked, still a little unbelieving.

"No." She simply answered and confirmed it with an understanding smile. "But next time you should call." She added.

Peter just returned her smile. He knew promising her wouldn't mean too much. "Ok." He nodded.

She looked at him waiting if he wanted to say something else but when he didn't she asked. "So what did you find?"

Peter leaned with his side against his locker as he answered.

"As strange as it might seem, nothing. I found nothing. Beck's name was deleted from every list I checked."

She didn't really seem to be surprised as he explained.

"Well, that just corroborates my suspicions. It must have been him that stole the blueprints."

"You may be right." Peter agreed as he thought about it. "But without evidence I doubt the police would believe it. Even if I somehow manage to catch Back, they would let him go."

"Right. We need to go deeper." Gwen said, determined to help Peter.

"I'm not sure we can. We have followed the only lead we had and it's a dead end. I think that's it." No matter how much he wanted to solve the case he had to admit to himself that it was over. He couldn't tell why he cared so much more about this than any other theft of this kind. Maybe it was a sixth sense, something like the tingling feeling that alerts him to danger, telling him not to let this go.

"Without finding Beck, I'm afraid it is." Gwen agreed but her last words were cut off by the bell. "Well, I guess I'll see you at the court?"

"Yeah." Peter nodded smiling and they both headed to their next class.

* * *

After classes the campus was usually quiet. Most students would just go home or hang out somewhere in the city in the afternoon and only a few people would stay near school. But this Wednesday every student would stay on campus and gather in the school's basketball court to watch the Midtown High basketball team take on their next opponent in the state championships. This was the first year that they participated on state level so basketball became a very important section in the school's life. And it also became an important part of Peter Parker's life as well since for the first time in his four high school years Coach Adams had called him up for the team.

It came as unexpectedly as possible. After Uncle Ben's death Peter and Flash had become what was yet to be called friendship but it was a huge step toward becoming friends. A few times every week they would get together in the yard during the lunch period with Flash's friends from the school team to play basketball. In the beginning they didn't fully involve Peter in the game but as Flash invited him more often and he played quite well everyone accepted him and they passed him more.  
One day the coach of the team, Steven Adams had his lunch in the yard and watched as his team played on the court. It was always the same two teams that played during the breaks so at first he didn't understand the new guy on Flash's side. The coach couldn't recall his face, he didn't remember seeing him in school before so he ignored him, not crediting too much importance to his presence. But as time passed and he saw the new guy playing he couldn't help but ask himself why he hadn't yet picked him for the school team. When the bell rang the guys on the court stopped playing and they headed back toward the building, discussing the game. As the students went back into the building Adams gathered his empty tray and caught up to Peter.

"Hi," he said once he had fallen in steps with him.

Peter looked up, surprised to see Adams next to him. "Hello, coach."

"I haven't seen you on the court before." Adams said.

Peter stopped and turned toward him.

"Yeah, I have just recently started playing."

"But you're quite good." Adam's words were specially valuable as he didn't go around in the school telling everybody how good they were at something.

"Thank you." Peter responded.

"What's your name, son?"

"Peter Parker." He answered as he started to get curious about what Coach Adams wanted.

"Parker, how would you feel about joining us this afternoon at training? From what I've seen just now, you could be of a lot help at the team."

Peter considered the option that Adams was joking, that it was only a prank that Flash or one of his friends found out to humiliate him but the way the coach was looking at him he knew he was serious.

"That would be great, sir." He answered and couldn't help the victorious smile appear on his face.

"Alright, son. See you then." Adams patted Peter's shoulder and turned back toward the gym.

Peter watched as the coach walked away, trying to get familiar with the thought of playing for the school basketball team. As his mind drifted off he barely realized that he was already late for class so when he snapped back to reality, as he ran toward the classroom he had to get ready for another lecture from Ms. Ritter.

"Parker!"

Flash's harsh voice calling his name brought Peter back to reality from daydreaming. He was sitting on the bench in the locker room getting ready for the upcoming match.

"Yeah, sorry." Peter apologized, his mind still not a hundred percent present.

"Come on and get dressed, we're starting in five minutes."

Peter nodded and took his jersey out of his bag. Before putting it on he took a look at the back of the shirt, resting his eyes on the blue number twelve printed on the white polyester. He was nervous of course. Everyone would be nervous before their first match.

He quickly changed into his basketball kit and he was ready when Coach Adams entered the locker room. He stood in the middle of the room and looked around at the faces of his players.

"Alright, guys, are you ready?" He shouted, pumping the guys before the game.

"Yeah!" Everyone shouted as one.

"Parker, are you ready?" Adams turned to Peter when he saw he wasn't taking part in shouting 'yeah'.

"Yeah." Peter answered.

"I said are you ready?" Adams repeated, this time louder, showing the fire and determination that he wanted to hear in Peter's voice.

"Yeah!"

"That's more like it." Adams said and turned back to the team. "Alright. We have discussed the tactics, I want you to do everything you can. This is going to be a hard game, harder than those we have had before but you can do it. Thompson, Brown, Hernandez, Bradshaw and Bronkowsky, you start. Let's go!"

"Come on, guys, let's win this!" Flash added and the team left the locker and walked out to the court.

* * *

**So, I'm back with the same story, only with a different title. I had to change it, because the first one didn't quite reflect the story and it also didn't match the vibe of it. So, I hope you dodn't mind me changing it. Anyway, here's the new chapter and I can tell that you're going to be getting some high school fluff in the upcoming one, so get ready! And as usual, please tell me your opinion, it would help me very much!**


	14. Chapter Fourteen

The stands surrounding the basketball court were full of spectators. The dominant colors was Midtown's white and azure but quite a few fans came to support Central Park East High School as well. Even though that the court was yet empty and both teams were still in their locker rooms fans had already began cheering, one group trying to shout down the other in a chanting competition. When Midtown's principal appeared on the court and walked to the microphone that was set up in the center circle, the already loud home crowd gave him a rapturous standing ovation, expressing their infatuation.

"Good evening, everyone!" The principal greeted the people that had gathered in the hall. "It's amazing to see so many of you here. As I'm sure all of you know Midtown High took a huge step in this year's regular season and moved forward to the state championships with the lead of our number two point guard, Flash Thompson. I honestly hope that with his sensational form the team will be able to impress us with their performance and achieve a success that will increase the reputation of our school all around the state. And without further talking I will now call up the teams for tonight's game. First, please welcome the visitor side, Central Park East Flames!"

He pointed towards the visitor locker room and it's doors flung open and the team in yellow jersey entered the court. They were welcomed by their supporters' loud applause as their starting five occupied their half of the court.

"And now the home side, our beloved guys, ladies and gentlemen, Midtown Panthers!"

The home side crowd burst out in an even louder applause and some fans waved their Panthers scarves in the air of lifted the banners they made, usually with texts on them like 'Go, Panthers' or '#2 is best' or 'We love Flash' with a heart replacing the word 'love'.

When both starting fives had took their places on the court the principal grabbed the microphone and left the playing ground, giving his place to the referee who walked to the center circle with the ball in his hands. He then called the two players who would jump for the ball.

"Looks like your boyfriend is not starting today." MJ mocked Gwen and poked her arm with hers.

"Stop it, ok? He'll play." Gwen tried to riposte but it didn't sound as confident as it should have so it just gave reason for Mary Jane to continue.

"Yeah, right." She laughed disbelievingly. "The coach will call Flash off and send Peter in, or what? It's the first time he's called up for the team. Please, Gwen, I know he's your boyfriend but don't get your hopes too high."

Gwen quietly listened, persistently gritting her teeth to keep herself from saying anything that would hurt MJ. She tried so hard that when Mary Jane finished her mid-long monologue her teeth actually hurt. She turned toward her friend, shooting daggers from her eyes and it took all her strength not to burst out.

"Mary Jane, I swear to god that if you say one more word-"

MJ saw the seriousness of the situation so she quickly lifted her hands in defense, leaning farther from her to be in a safe distance, just in case.

"Alright, I was just joking, okay? You don't have to get so furious about it. I didn't mean it." She repeated to make sure Gwen would understand.

Gwen turned away so MJ assumed she had given up on her aim of tearing her to pieces.

"I'm sorry, I'm just nervous." Her voice almost got lost among the loud chanting in the hall and MJ had to make a huge effort to understand what Gwen was saying.

"I know you are. It's normal. But I'm supporting him, too. I really do." MJ assured Gwen. She sent her a friendly smile as a sign of reconciliation.

"It's starting!" Gwen pointed toward the court excitedly and MJ snap her attention back to the game to see as the Flames player tipped the ball toward his teammates before Bronkowsky and so the first offense was going to be run by the visitors.

Central Park played well. Everyone could see that they were much more used to the higher pace of the state championships than the Panthers. They played quick passes and usually finished their attacks well before the time on the shot clock expired.

Coach Adams tried everything to keep up with the opposition but kept Peter on the bench and instead sent in players that had more experience in the game and understood each other more with their teammates.

By the end of the first quarter the Flames lead by 22:13. The home crowd kept supporting their team with the same amount of enthusiasm as the teams lined up for the second quarter. Adams sent in Matthews for Brown but otherwise no changes were made and Peter was still sitting on the bench. The Panthers had the possession so they could run the next attack.

The coach must have said something encouraging in the short break because his team played much better than in the first eight minutes. Flash scored eight points in a row and Bronkowsky, the shooting guard added four more, making the score 30:25 two minutes before the end of the half, when the visitors' coach called for a time-out. Both teams gathered around their coaches and listened to their instructions.

"Alright, boys. This is much better." Coach Adams said when all his players were listening. "That's what I'd like to see Thompson, keep up this form. Tight defense, Matthews, I like that. You're doing great, guys. Now, we have two more minutes in this half. I want you to narrow the gap in the score as much as possible. Hernandez, it's your job to keep the number thirteen guy from breaking in to the rim. He's a huge guy but you can stop him. We're gonna switch defense tactics. They don't do well in shooting from distance so we should switch to zone defense. Bronkowsky, you're the shooting guard, for god's sake, I want you to score."

The referee signaled the end of the time-out so the teams went back to the court and the Flames got the ball to continue their offense. They didn't rush straight toward the basket, they patiently gave the ball around, involving everyone in the game. When there were only eleven seconds left of their time the number thirteen Flames player moved to the left sideline as he usually did and after he got the ball he attempted to break in toward the backboard but Hernandez was already expecting it and he tipped the ball out of the offensive player's hands easily and made a quick pass to Matthews who shot out toward the rim of the opponent team. The turnover caught the visitors by surprise and they couldn't react quickly enough so Matthews scored the twenty-seventh point for his team with an aggressive dunk.

The visitor coach shouted with his team, complaining about the accuracy of their passes and criticizing their defense. His players looked desperate as they collected the ball and tried to find a way to score in the remaining thirty-nine seconds of the first half. The Ravens defense worked well as they blocked the attempt for a dunk after a successful break-in but the ball was collected by the opposition.

"Twelve more seconds!" Adams shouted from the bench, letting the guys know how much was left on the shot clock.

Bronkowsky looked to the side toward the bench and nodded, giving confirmation that he had heard the coach's words. When he turned back to face his opponent with the ball he waited a few seconds then when the number thirteen didn't pass, Bronkowsky suddenly stepped forward and tried to snatch the ball from his hands.

It was what the attacker expected and he swiftly took a step to the side, dodging Bronkowsky's move. He then stepped to where Bronkowsky had been standing and made a quick pass to his left. It was a give and go move but when the Panthers defenders realized, the number thirteen player had moved into a free spot and as he got the ball back he had no difficulties dunking it into the basket.

"What the hell was that, Bronkowsky?!" Adams shouted with his face red with anger. He spread his arms and kept looking at his shooting guard, demanding an answer, an explanation to his foolish move. Bronkowsky didn't look at the coach, he just kept staring at his feet and waited until his teammates collected the ball. The Panthers had only five seconds left and it was only enough for Flash to attempt a jump shot from around the division line. The ball was still crossing the air when the buzzer went off. All eyes were on the ball, the Ravens players hoping for it to fall into the basket. After the ball had reached the peak height of its parabolic path and started to descend the home side had more reason to be happy because the ball hit the backboard and then crossed the rim and fell into the basket.

"That's it, baby!" MJ shouted and stood up to wave her 'Flash is the best' banner. She would never say it but she found the point guard quite attractive. He was that typical badass guy who Mary Jane usually fell for.

When the ball hit the ground all of the Panthers players' hands were in the air and even Coach Adams seemed to have forgiven for Bronkowsky's earlier mistake. The halftime score was 32:29 and the home side had managed to come back into the game. Both coaches led their teams back in the locker rooms and the fans slowly started to leave to refill their cups and their popcorn boxes.

"Wanna go to the buffet?" Mary Jane asked Gwen after both teams had left the court.

"Yeah, my cup is empty." The blond girl answered and shook her cup as a proof of her statement.

"Ah, fine. Let's go." MJ said, obviously disappointed by her response. "I just hope nobody takes my banner. It took me a lot of time to make."

"Since almost everybody has one like that, I doubt that anyone would steal yours." Gwen assured her nonchalantly and stood up from her chair.

"Well, I hope you're right." MJ said and after one last glance at her chair to make sure the banner was still there she followed Gwen as she headed to the buffet.

* * *

"Why the bad mood?" Mary Jane asked after they had been standing in the line to the buffet counter for a good five minutes without Gwen saying a single word. She could feel that there was something wrong with her friend and she knew her well enough to know that she wouldn't tell by herself.

Gwen rarely talked about her own problems although in the past month she'd had plenty of them and still she bore the burden alone without a single word of complaint. She never told her but Mary Jane admired Gwen for her miraculous willpower and self-control. It was something she couldn't identify with but envied so much. She was never the kind of person to deal with her own problems and not ask for any help. She would run to Gwen with even her slightest issues and without even asking for her to listen she would rant about them for hours and Gwen would listen and try to comfort her because that's what a best friend does.

Gwen's late reaction was everything MJ needed to tell that her mind had drifted off and she wasn't paying too much attention to anything around her.

"What? Oh, nothing." Gwen tried to avoid answering and forced a fake smile to show Mary Jane that everything was okay.

"Oh, come on, Gwen. Is it Peter? You're worried that he wouldn't play?" Mary Jane wasn't that easy to fool. She wanted to help Gwen, she felt like she owed her this but wasn't too good judge of character to perceive that the matter was far more complicated than simply Peter playing or not.

Gwen sighed, faking that she was caught. "Yeah, I'm sorry, I just..."

It was easier to make MJ believe that she knew what was wrong. It was better for both of them. How could she tell her the complete truth anyway? She couldn't tell that Peter Parker was swinging around the city in a red and blue spandex every day, risking his life to help the defenseless. He was everything she needed and when she was with him she had a feeling that was more than anyone could ask for, a feeling that sometimes she doubted she deserved. But every time he came knocking on her window in the middle of the night, battered and bruised, asking her to stitch him up a whole other feeling would fill her heart. And those times, as she sat there in her room cleaning dried blood from his skin she couldn't help but worry that what if the next time he just wouldn't be so lucky to get away with a couple of cuts and dark spots on his skin. And after he had left and she got back to bed she would just keep turning, not being able to shake her deepest fear off her mind, the fear of losing Peter. And every single night like that made the burden harder for her to carry and every night night like that she came closer to the point where she just couldn't take any more. Nobody could understand what she was feeling, not even her best friend.

"It's okay, I know. And don't worry, I'm sure he's going to get his chance." Mary Jane sent her a supportive smile.

"Thank you." Gwen said and returned the smile. She was glad that she knew the side of Mary Jane Watson that barely anyone else could see.

* * *

"You saw that guy that kept staring at me the whole time we were waiting?" MJ asked with her eyes wide with excitement, still convincing herself that it had really happened. She obviously wasn't offended but felt like she had to hear Gwen's words as confirmation.

They were heading back to their seats as there were only three minutes to the end of the halftime break.

"Yeah, like that's so unusual." Gwen laughed ironically as she found Mary Jane's indignation way too gratuitous.

She was Mary Jane Watson, the most beautiful girl in high school. She always had the shortest mini skirts and the tank tops that covered the least of the body and the moment she opened her mouth, every guy fell for her because of the way she teased them. She was known to be the wildest girl on campus and guys fell for her.

"Seriously, Gwen, that guy was literally burning holes on my shirt with his look." MJ complained, but Gwen knew it was just part of the show. Mary Jane was good at acting.

"It didn't seem like it was irritating you then." Gwen kept annoying MJ to entertain herself.

"Oh, shut up!" MJ said and slightly pushed Gwen with her arm.

They both laughed as they entered the gym. Most of the spectators had already taken their seats but there were empty spots all around the stands. They made their way through the narrow aisle between the backs of chairs and the legs of sitting people and sat down just before the teams came back to the court.

"See, I told you it's safe." Gwen pointed at the banner when MJ took it in her hands.

She couldn't expect to hear her response as the crowd broke out in a loud ovation as the Panthers came out from their locker room. Gwen searched for Peter among the players who walked to the court but he wasn't there and when she drew her gaze to the bench she could see him sit down next to the other substitutes. She was hoping Coach Adams would send him on but in this situation when the team had really caught the vibe of the game and could narrow the gap in the score she understood that the five players coming up were the same five who finished the last quarter.

Mary Jane must have seen the disappointment on her face as she tried to reassure her once again. "Don't worry, Gwen, it's just a matter of time."

The game started and the Flames opened with a strong three pointer. The home side kept their zone defense but after an unsuccessful break in the opponents tried a distance shot and what didn't work too well in the first half now did and the ball fell into the basket without touching the rim.

The early points didn't seem to break the Panthers as they immediately ran a quick counter attack. Flash and Bradshaw played three swift passes and in the end it was Flash who dunked the ball, reducing the advantage of the opposition by two points. Flash turned toward the home crowd and motioned to them with his arms to be louder, pumping them as well as himself and his team.

Four minutes in the third quarter the score was 42:35 to the visitors. The Panthers offense didn't work as smoothly as it did in the end of the first half and it was mostly Bronkowsky who failed to score.

"God, damn it, Bronkowsky!" Coach Adams shouted and angrily stomped his foot against the ground after the shot of the shooting guard had been blocked by the opponent player. He turned back toward the bench and motioned Peter to stand up. "Parker, get ready, you're going in."

"He's coming in!" Gwen screamed excitedly and stood up from her seat as she saw Peter stand up from the bench and take off his jacket.

"See, I've told you." Mary Jane said offhandedly and took a sip of her drink, as if it was just natural that she had predicted something that later came true.

While Peter took his jacket off Adams turned back to watch the game and saw as Bradshaw passed the ball to Bronkowsky who pushed himself in the air to dunk the ball but was sent back to the ground by a massive body check by the defender. The number fifteen attacker fell to the ground and the referee immediately blew his whistle, signaling that a foul had been committed and that the game would continue with two free throws.

Bronkowsky hit his back and for a few seconds he couldn't breathe. He stayed on the ground and every player gathered around him to see if he was okay. He soon regained his breath and as he slowly got up from the ground he told everyone not to worry. His teammates told him to take a break but Bronkowsky was too stubborn and insisted that he stay on court and play. Coach Adams didn't want to take him off so when the shooting guard signaled him that everything was fine and he would continue playing the coach told Peter to stop warming up and wait for the free throws. He wasn't happy by the decision but did as his coach asked and put his jacket back on.

"What the hell?" Gwen exclaimed as she saw the gesture and frustratedly fell back to her seat.

MJ was afraid that she would snap at her for her false prediction but the blond remained silent.

It was the offended himself who stood to the free throw line. The players took their positions around the free throw lane and waited for the referee to give the ball to Bronkowsky. Everyone could see the tension on the players' faces even from the stands and the air became still as the number fifteen Panthers player bounced the ball twice before positioning himself for the throw. He bent his knees and exhaled deeply, targeting the ring then erected and threw the ball. The few seconds the ball spent in the air seemed like an eternity to the shooting guard. It wasn't his best match for sure and he really needed these two throws to go in to gain some confidence that would certainly improve his game. He kept his breath until the ball fell through the basket and then let out a relieved sigh that took all his frustration and anger with it. He glanced up at the score board and watched as the number next to the home side switched from thirty-five to thirty-six. The referee gave the ball back to Bronkowsky and as if left his fingertips he knew it was going in. The score changed to 42:37 and with both free throws successful Adams decided to keep his shooting guard on for the time being.

The rest of the third quarter was quite balanced between the two teams, both finished their attacks successfully and Bronkowsky really seemed like a whole other person as he scored six points for his team in less than three minutes. Flash even managed to score a three pointer so when the buzzer went off signaling the end of the third period the score was 50:46 and the home side was still in the game.

"Alright, guys, nice job, nice job. Seems like you remember how to play basketball after all, Bronkowsky." Adams started his speech. "We're only four points behind and that's good. There are still eight minutes left to change the score, okay? Let's go!"

"We need to win this!" Flash added as final words and the guys returned to the court for the last period.

Coach Adams was sure they would win the game if they kept playing like they had in the last ten minutes or so but what he failed to notice was the painful expression on Bronkowsky's face since he was taken down by his opponent. He had been playing better since that but everyone could see that he fought the pain with every step he took.

The final eight minutes started and the Panthers got the ball. After a good fifteen minutes of passing the ball around at the three point line Bronkowsky switched gear and played a quick one two with Matthews and jumped for the dunk but he missed and the ball bounced off of the rim. Brown and a Flames player shot out toward the ball at the same time but the Panthers center was quicker and collected the rebound, putting the ball in the basket.

Bronkowsky must have felt that he wasn't able to put in a good performance that everybody expected of him so as he ran back to their half of the court to defend he looked to the bench and signaled the coach to switch him off.

"What is wrong?" Adams asked as he couldn't understand why one of his best players would want to come off. But as he looked at Bronkowsky's face he saw what he hadn't noticed before and knew that if he kept him on the court he would definitely not be able to pull through until the end of the match.

"Parker!" He turned back to the bench. "Get ready!"

The other substitutes didn't like the fact that the new guy was going to be sent in instead of them but they respected the coach's decisions so they didn't complain.

The coach told Peter what his task would be and waited until the end of the offense which ended with a Flames basket and then called off Bronkowsky, sending in Peter as the new shooting guard.

"Is everything okay, son?" Adams asked Bronkowsky as the player walked to the bench.

He silently nodded and Adams patted his shoulder as a sign of trust and appreciation for his performance.

Peter had five minutes to show something of his abilities. He was of course nervous because this was his first game and because there were at least a couple hundred people watching him and somewhere on the stands was Gwen watching his every move and that made him even more nervous.

"Shake it off, Parker and play!" Flash tried to encourage him and passed him the ball.

Peter nodded in acknowledgement and started dribbling toward the opponent basket. A defender instantly stepped in front of him so Peter had to pass the ball to the side to Brown who had also come back on for Matthews. He passed the ball on to Bradshaw in the corner who jumped and scored a three pointer, as simple as it was.

For the first time during the match the Flames attack was very soon aborted by the referee for travelling. The Flames player nervously bounced the ball against the ground as they had to turn it over to the home side. The Panthers sensed the tension and tried to take advantage of it. Brown dribbled the ball along the side line and when he reached the three point line he passed the ball to Peter who was following the attack. He made a swift spin around the defender standing in front of him and could easily jump and place the ball in the basket. The home crowd burst out in the loudest ovation so far as the Panthers had taken the lead for the first time during the evening.

"That's right, Parker, show 'em what you got!" He heard the coach shout and he couldn't help the joyful smile appear on his face.

"You saw that?" Gwen asked MJ with her features glowing with excitement.

"Sure I did." Mary Jane answered and Gwen could hear in her tone that she was surprised by Peter's abilities. She clearly wasn't expecting him to be this good.

The Panthers couldn't keep their lead for very long as Brown committed a foul when the number thirteen Flames player jumped to score so the opponents had two free throws to change the score with. The first one easily went in, without touching the rim but the second throw was too long and after the ball hit the backboard it bounced off of the rim so two and a half minutes to the end the game was all tied, 53:53.

It seemed like the Panthers had caught the vibe of the game more in these moments and Flash scored two points in the end of their next attack with a nicely executed teardrop jump shot. Losing the lead had confused the visitors and they started playing hastily, making more mistakes. As they gave the ball around at the home side three point line Peter saw that the pass to the player standing in the corner on his side was going to be short so he shot out and grabbed the ball mid-air and ran a quick counter attack, scoring another two points, putting his team four points ahead one minute before the end of the match.

Just when they could believed that they had won the match the best Flames player, the number thirteen scored a three pointer when there was only one second on the shot clock to let the Panthers know that the match was far from over. The visitor coach immediately called for a time out to discuss how to win the game and it was a good opportunity for the home side as well to take a short rest and calm down.

When the time was up Flash took the ball and orchestrated the attack. They stood up at the opponent's three point line and patiently waited for their chance to score. Flash watched as his teammate on his left asked for the ball and as he drew the opponents' attention Peter broke away from his defender on Flash's other side. Flash detected his move and played a blind pass to Peter who dodged another defender at the basket and scored his sixth point in a row.

There were only twenty-three seconds left on the clock and the home side was three points ahead so the visitors had to run a quick attack if they wanted to win the game. They quickly collected the ball after Peter's basket and tried to take advantage of the unsettled home defense. They played a long pass and as the attacker got the ball behind the defense line he could score the fifty-eighth point for his team. The offense only took seven seconds from their time so the Flames still had sixteen seconds to steal the ball from the Panthers and either score a three pointer and win the game or go into overtime with a two point field goal.

Both coaches watched the clock nervously as the Panthers kept passing the ball around with no intentions to run another offense. The visitors desperately tried to snap the ball but the ball handler was quicker and had passed the ball on before the opposition could have taken it. The remaining time went like this with Panthers in possession. In the last second Flash attempted a jump shot just as he did in the end of the first half. The ball bounced off of the ring but as the buzzer went off nobody cared anymore.

The home crowd celebrated the win of the match with a standing ovation and everyone waved their banners and scarves enthusiastically. The home players congratulated each other and then formed a chain and bowed in front of their supporters, saying thanks for the persistent cheering. Nobody knew yet who the guy in the number twelve shirt was but they were glad to see him on the court and take a large role in turning the game around and making the final score 58:59.

* * *

**So, I know this is by far the longest chapter I have written but I just couldn't split it into two parts. This belongs together, right? I just had to do a chapter like this, because it was just an immense amount of fun to write. I hope you liked it too, and also, I cannot skip to tell that your reviews are always always welcome. :))) **


	15. Chapter Fifteen

**I'm so sorry it took this long to update and don't have any accaptable explanation apart from school but that's not enough, is it? Anyway, here's the next chapter, enjoy! :)**

* * *

When the team left the gym it had already turned dark. The campus had become empty which was understandable considering the late hour. The visitor supporters left after the game immediately while the home fans stayed and kept chanting and singing for a while longer but after about fifteen minutes they decided to continue celebrating at home or somewhere else in the city with their friends.

Peter and his teammates walked from the school building to the streets together talking to each other happily on the way about whatever entertaining topic they could find. When they had reached the point from where they would go on separate ways they stopped to finish the conversation then congratulated each other once more for the win and said goodbye and everyone headed home.

Peter pulled his jacket tighter around him and swung his bag from one shoulder to the other. He inserted his earbuds into his ears and started walking toward the subway station with Demons by Imagine Dragons playing in his ears. None of his teammates took the same route as Peter so he was especially surprised to see Flash catch up to him. He waited to see if Flash was just going to pass by but he kept walking beside him so Peter thought there must be something the point guard wanted from him.

"I didn't know you went this way." Peter turned toward Flash, removing his earphones and pausing music on his phone.

"Well, that's because I don't. I just uh, wanted to ask you something." Flash answered as they kept walking. The infinite rejoice that was showing on his face a couple of minutes ago was now replaced by the usual uncertainty that lingered in the air whenever the two of them were talking.

"Go ahead." He told Flash and as he remembered that whenever Flash wanted to ask his opinion about something it would usually involve a personal matter he started to have a feeling that the upcoming minutes were going to be quite uncomfortable.

"So, uh," Flash stammered and exhaled deeply, gathering the words to say. "I saw your photo in the Daily Bugle. The one you took of Spiderman. It's quite a big thing,

I mean you're the first to take a close picture of the guy."

"Well, thanks. But it really wasn't that hard. I guess I was just lucky."

Hearing Flash's compliment felt good but Peter couldn't find out where he was going with this whole conversation.

"Yeah. Do you know the guy?" Flash asked without trying to hide that he didn't buy Peter's story about being lucky.

"What makes you say that?" Peter asked, curious about where Flash's presumption came from.

"It's just weird. No one has been able to take a proper picture of him before you." Flash reasoned.

Peter couldn't help a small smile appear in the corner of his mouth.

"Can you keep a secret?" Peter asked as an idea started to form in his mind.

"Sure." Flash replied quickly which didn't sound too sincere but Peter didn't need it to, anyway.

"Alright." Peter said and took a deep breath, faking the preparation to tell Flash his secret and when he started to talk he made sure his words would be slow and prim. "I am actually the official photographer of Spiderman."

He watched as Flash absorbed the information and saw disbelief starting to show on his face.

"You're kidding, right?" He laughed, voicing his doubtfulness.

"No." Peter simply said, fighting hard to keep a straight face.

"Yes, you are." Flash pushed and for a moment Peter thought his plan was not going to work. He remained silent and kept his poker face.

"You're not kidding, are you?" Flash asked after a few seconds of observing Peter's features. His face turned serious and Peter knew he succeeded.

"How cool is that!" Flash exclaimed. "You guys talk sometimes, too?"

Bingo, Peter thought as he heard Flash's question. His plan on building up a nice amount of appreciation seemed to be working.

"Yes, sometimes we do." Peter said, enjoying the situation.

"Cool." Flash paused there but Peter knew he was going to continue.

He was right.

"So, here's the thing." Flash blurted out after thorough consideration. "The next time you talk to him could you by any chance ask him if he could maybe meet with me some time? I know it's a huge favor to ask but the guy has made such a great impression on my life that I feel like I just need to tell him about it. You know what I mean, right?"

Flash laughed nervously when he finished and waited for Peter to answer.

The question didn't catch Peter entirely by surprise as he had been expecting to hear something similar to that. Still, the thought of Flash asking him to arrange a meeting with Spiderman hadn't crossed his mind.

How the hell would he manage to do it? And even if the two of them did meet, Flash would surely recognize his voice under the mask. Peter was considering a 'no' for answer but it was he who started the game by telling Flash he was the personal photographer of Spiderman so he couldn't be the one to quit. Besides, hearing that he, Peter Parker was able to inspire Flash Thompson, even if only indirectly was an invaluable compliment.

"Actually," Peter started. "I'm meeting with Spiderman tomorrow for another couple of pictures. I could arrange a meeting for you before that."

He could see Flash's eyes brighten at his answer. It was a reaction from Flash he had never seen before.

"You can do that?"

"I can try." Peter tried to be realistic. "I can't promise anything but I don't think he'll refuse."

"That would be great. Thanks, Peter." Flash said smiling appreciatively and Peter was surprised to see the almost childish enthusiasm in Flash's eyes.

It was the time he called Peter by his first name and it gave him another reason to remember the night maybe as a start of another long lasting friendship.

"You're welcome." Peter nodded and watched Flash depart and head in the direction they had come from.

Peter continued his way with Flash's request in his mind. He wondered if Flash would still have acted this friendly if they had lost the game an hour before. He probably wouldn't have and Peter wouldn't be in a situation like this. Introducing Flash to Spiderman sounded good and all in theory but the hard part would be putting it into practice. The part he didn't think about was how to be there as Spiderman and Peter Parker at the same time so that Flash wouldn't suspect anything.

There were two possible options Peter could think of. One was somehow managing to be there also as Spiderman and Peter while the other was being there only as Spiderman and giving some crappy explanation why Peter Parker couldn't make it. Two to choose from, he just didn't know which would be easier.

As Peter tried to figure it out he heard the approaching sound of high heel shoes knocking against the snowy pavement behind him.

"Peter!" He heard Gwen's voice call after him and he stopped and turned back to wait for her.

"Hey, beautiful." He greeted her with a light kiss on the mouth.

"Hi," she breathed lovingly. His eyes were so absorbing that when Gwen looked at him she felt like her body was weightlessly floating with an endless space and the physics of the real word just didn't work anymore.

"You've been waiting for me?" Peter broke the moment of silence.

His voice brought her back to reality and as the world around her started to take its shape again she felt solid ground under her feet.

"Well, yeah." Gwen admitted, sounding a little embarrassed.

"That's very nice of you." Peter said appreciatively to ease her embarrassment.

"What's with you and Flash?" Gwen asked and cast a glance behind her back to see Flash's silhouette disappear the corner of a building.

"Don't ask." Peter sighed listlessly.

"Come on. What is it?" She pushed, her face glowing with excitement and curiosity, like a ten year old child when he unboxes his presents on Christmas Eve.

"I don't think I should talk about it to anyone." Peter apologized but he knew Gwen wouldn't let it go that easily.

"Please! I won't pass it on." She pleaded with huge puppy dog eyes.

It was the kind of look that Peter couldn't say 'no' to and as he considered it further he realized that she might even be able to help him carry out his plan.

"Promise?"

"Cross my heart." Gwen nodded seriously and waited for him to speak.

"Alright." Peter said and motioned toward the end of the street. "Let's go. I'll tell you on the way."

She agreed and they started walking with their shadows cast by the dim light of the street lamps following them silently on the snow.

"So, Flash wants me to introduce him to Spiderman." Peter summarized the story in one simple sentence.

"What?" Gwen asked astonished like she didn't believe she had heard it right. "Indroduce him to Spiderman? Why? And why ask you?"

"It's a long story." Peter warned her but didn't ask if she wanted to hear it as he already knew what the answer would be.

She looked up at him waiting for him to continue so he did.

"Remember when you showed me that advertisement in the Daily Bugle where they wanted photos of Spiderman?" He started at the very beginning so she would get a full view of the picture.

"Yes." Gwen answered immediately. "How did it go, by the way?" She quickly added, assuming that he had taken the pictures to the newspaper.

"Good. I got four hundred for the pictures." Peter said proudly.

"Four hundred? That's a lot of money, especially for the first time." Gwen knew Peter was a talented photographer but this number surprised her. She didn't expect the

Bugle to pay this much to a rookie photographer even if the pictures had a very special value.

"Yeah, actually first I was offered one hundred but I felt like I deserved more, so I started bargaining." Peter admitted but felt that they had deviated from the original topic. "But I'll tell you about this later."

"Ok," she agreed as she was more eager to know about Peter's conversation with Flash at the moment.

"So, Flash came to talk to me before you appeared at my table." Peter continued and moved his bag to his other shoulder as the one he had been carrying it on was starting to become numb. "He told me how inspiring Spiderman was to him. That he looked up to him."

"I wonder if he would have said the same thing if he knew who Spiderman actually was." Gwen chuckled.

"Why? We're talking quite often now that I'm on the team. I think he could handle the truth." Peter played with the idea.

"Of course he couldn't. You're not planning to tell him, are you?" Gwen asked indignantly and grabbed Peter's shoulder, making him stop and turn toward her.

"No, of course I'm not." Peter strongly denied as if he hadn't meant it anyway.

"Good." Gwen released a relieved sigh.

"So, what did you say to Flash?" She asked once they had continued walking.

"I said I would introduce him to Spiderman tomorrow." Peter unfolded the yet quite rudimentary plan that didn't even exist in his head in its full.

"And how are you planning to do that exactly?" Gwen asked with curiosity and a small amount of hidden disbelief in her tone.

"I don't know, yet." Peter admitted. "But I'd be glad if you could help me with it."

He knew if anyone could find out a plan that would work it was Gwen Stacy.

"Yeah, sure. It sounds interesting enough to jump in." Gwen let her adveturessness take over.

"Thanks. I knew I could count on you." Peter said but Gwen had already set her mind to the matter and wasn't paying attention to what he was saying.

"We somehow need to make him believe that he saw both Spiderman and you." She muttered rather to herself than to Peter.

"How do you want to do this whole thing tomorrow?" She looked up at him.

"I don't know." Peter wasn't sure what she was expecting him to say. "I told Flash that I'll be taking pictures of Spiderman tomorrow evening and that I can arrange a meeting for him before that."

"Right." She mumbled and Peter could almost hear the sound of her brain work. "So, tomorrow evening you will meet with Flash first, oh, where are you going to do this?"

"I haven't decided yet." Peter answered aware that he didn't help too much with it.

"Ok, we'll figure it out later." She skipped the subject inadvertently. "So, you'll meet with Flash as Peter Parker and then you're going to have to leave the scene and reappear as Spiderman, right?"

Peter simply nodded. He didn't know what she had in mind but he could tell that she had already had something.

"I guess that's where I would come in." She assumed, her sentence sounding more like a statement than a question.

"Yeah." Peter confirmed. "Maybe you could call me that we have to talk or something."

"And that would give you reason to disappear and also a chance to change into your suit." Gwen finished the part of his thought that remained unsaid.

"Exactly."

"One point to Stacy and Parker." Gwen said smiling proudly and lifted her hand up for a high five.

He gave her the five but corrected her. "_Parker and_ _Stacy.  
_

"No." Gwen denied and her face turned serious. "It's definitely _Stacy and Parker._"

"If you insist..." Peter let her have her head about it but wasn't mad at her for being this stubborn as he knew it was only another little game.

"Oh, I haven't even congratulated, yet." Gwen's featured turned bright once again. "That was really something, what you did on the court tonight."

"Thank you. It means a lot coming from you." Peter sent her a thankful smile. The fact that he was able to impress his girlfriend gave him a feeling that he knew he was going to treasure until the end of his life.

"It should mean a lot coming from anybody because you seriously were amazing down there." She kept praising his performance. "I wouldn't be surprised to see you as a fix starter on the team from now on."

With her each word Peter's chest swell to its double.

"Well, I hope I'll get the opportunity." He had to be realistic. No matter how much he helped the team win the game he had to remain down to Earth and know that only because of one good performance he hadn't booked a place for himself in the starting lineup.

"It would be a shame if you didn't." Gwen said and gave him another soft kiss on his cheek.

Peter just smiled but didn't respond and they continued their way with the noises of the night city surrounding them.

"Oh, you have a new fan, by the way." Gwen broke the silence as they turned around a corner.

"A new fan?" Peter asked curiously, wondering what she meant by that. He assumed that one of her friends became a fan of Spiderman but secretly he was hoping that his basketball skills had caught someone's attention in a positive way.

"Yep. You had made quite an impact on one of my friends." She explained, giving only a hint but not telling who that certain someone actually was.

"That's cool. There are at least some people who like me for something else than the mask I wear." Peter said faking grief as if being Spiderman was the worst thing in the world.

"Yeah, right. If you had had your mask on she couldn't have seen you and couldn't have told me what a pretty face you had." Gwen chuckled.

"_She?_"

"Mary Jane." Gwen said the name finally. "You know her, right?"

She was sure Peter had heard the name before and watched his face inquisitively, curious how he would react to the fact that the school's probably most popular girl found him cute.

"Mary Jane Watson?" Peter wanted to make sure he was thinking of the right person.

"Cool, right?" She smiled widely and was seemingly happy for Peter.

Peter didn' know what he should say. The last person he expected to say he was cute was definitely Mary Jane Watson. But he couldn't deny the victorious feeling that flowed through his body either, he only wasn't sure if it would the right thing to show that in front of his girlfriend.

"What? Aren't you happy?" She asked as she saw Peter's hesitant look. "Every guy in school wishes Mary Jane said they were cute. It's not something everyone gets from her."

"I've never really cared about her opinion." Peter answered honestly. He hadn't cared so far because he was sure Mary Jane didn't know who he even was and didn't have any kind of opinion about him. But now that she had noticed him it did matter what she thought about him.

"Do you now?" She kept asking curiously.

"Are you jelaous?" Peter smiled, mocking her for fun.

"Please!" Gwen rolled her eyes. "Of course I'm not. I've known MJ since first grade and in the past years I have come to know her type exactly and believe me, you don't belong to them."

"That's very nice of you." Peter acted hurt.

"I don't understand why you should be huffish. I know a person whose type is just you," she teased and gave another peck on his cheek.

"I guess I'm lucky that I know her." Peter said and laid an arm around her waist and pulled her closer to him.

"The luckiest person alive." Gwen agreed.

They walked like that in silence until they had reached the subway station. None of them said another word of Mary Jane or anything else, the presence of each other was just enough in the pleasant winter night.

* * *

**I very much hope you liked this chapter. If you did, please review so I know. Thanks. :)) And for those who miss the action, don't worry, it's soon coming. **


	16. Chapter Sixteen

As Peter buried himself in his locker looking for his math textbook he saw Flash pass him by from the corner of his eye. He shut the locker and headed after Flash before he would lose his sight. Gwen and he had planned everything for the big meeting so the only thing left was to tell Flash about the details.

When Peter got closer he saw a blond girl talking to Flash as they walked, apparently enjoying the conversation they were having. From behind Peter couldn't tell who the girl was but he couldn't remember seeing her with Flash before. Flash and the girl stopped as they arrived at a classroom and they turned to face each other as they talked. This way Peter had a better view on the girl's face but he couldn't recall seeing her before. He didn't want to guess what was between the two of them and didn't want to spoil anything so Peter decided to wait until they had finished talking and only caught up to Flash when the girl had entered the classroom.

"Hey," Peter patted Flash's shoulder.

"Hi, Pete," Flash replied in a delighted mood that Peter supposed was in connection with that certain blond. He considered asking Flash about it but he couldn't find enough reason to do so.

"I've got good news." Peter said as they continued walking in the hallway.

"Yeah?"

"Yes. I talked to Spiderman last night." Peter paused for a moment as he realized what he had just said must have sounded quite stupid. "He said that he hadn't gotten a request like this before but he'd be glad to meet with you."

Flash didn't seem nearly as exhilarated as Peter expected him to be hearing that.

"You talked to him?" Flash asked skeptically as if it was the most obvious lie he had even heard.

"Yes." Peter said casually. "And he said it's ok. He told us to go at 6 pm and said he'd be waiting on the top of the building on the corner of 5th Avenue and 72nd Street."

"You simply talked to Spiderman?" You have his number or what?" Flash kept asking as if he hadn't heard the part where Peter told him that his query had been approved.

"No, of course I don't." Peter denied vehemently. He didn't understand Flash's sudden behavior. "I just bumped into him last night."

"That's quite a coincidence." The scepticism in Flash's tone started to get irritating to Peter but he tried to remain calm.

"I guess I was lucky."

"You're quite a lucky guy, Parker."

Only then did Peter realize that he used the same choice of words last evening when they were talking after the basketball game. He could see that Flash suspected something wasn't right and that he was trying to put the pieces together even though he probably didn't have an idea what the image would be about. Peter was worried that his secret was in danger but he also knew that acting conspicuously would only make things worse. He remained silent and waited for Flash to say something.

"So, he said it's ok to meet?" Flash finally said and Peter was glad that he put aside his suspicions. At least for the time being.

* * *

Mr. Kelly brought worksheets on logarithmic functions to maths class for individual work. It wasn't Peter's favorite but he was good enough at it to finish in a good twenty minutes and he had nothing better to spend the remaining time with than blankly staring out of the window. There wasn't too much worth watching in the empty schoolyard. Everything was white of snow and the only movement that distinguished the yard from a still painting were the few little sparrows digging the snow with their beaks, looking for their daily nutrition.

Peter could have easily fallen asleep at the monotonous view so when he spotted the familiar black figure jumping on rooftops distorting the characteristic city skyline, followed by police cars he was more than happy that he had a reason to leave the building. It wasn't the perfect excuse, it wasn't a real excuse at all and Peter knew it. But in situations like this his hero complex would take over and without any deliberation he would put on the mask and go where he thought he was needed.

Peter didn't even consider whether the Black Cat really needed his help, he just stood up from the chair and grabbed his backpack. All eyes in the classroom snapped at him but he didn't care and ran toward the door leading to the hallway.

"Mr. Parker!" Mr. Kelly called after him but he knew there was no use. He had done this before.

"I'm sorry, I don't feel too good." Peter said the first thing that came to his mind and stormed out of the room without stopping.

Peter ran through the hallway ignoring the fact that his loud steps would surely disturb every class he passed. He swiftly rounded the corner toward the exit and as he reached the end of the hallway he slammed the doors open and stepped outside.

The sensation of the cold air came so suddenly that he felt as if he had hit a barrier. He came to a halt but tried to ignore the freezing wave that flowed through his body. He clenched his teeth and continued his way toward the streets following the noise of police sirens. Peter found an alley to leave his clothes in and ascended into the air with the usual 'wooh' that could have easily become his trademark.

It didn't take long to catch up to the line of police cars. There were many on the street, an unreasonably high number for chasing one person. But when it was about the Black Cat any number of police cruisers was reasonable. Peter couldn't see the white haired thief so he followed the police hoping they would lead him to her. He wasn't sure why he was so desperate to help her but in that very moment he wasn't trying to find a reason.

After a right turn at the next intersection Peter saw that about three hundred meters down the road the police cruisers had stopped in a circle and Peter didn't have to have eagle eyes to see that the person who two police officers were accompanying to a cruiser was the Black Cat.

Peter landed on a nearby wall and watched as the Black Cat was forced into the car. He felt like he had to do something to help her but still he didn't move. There were at least a dozen policemen down there, none of whom would hesitate for even a second to pull a gun on Spiderman the second they saw him. But the police was just part of the reason Peter stayed stuck to the wall watching as the door of the car closed and the police cruisers headed back toward the station.

And why would he even bother? He didn't know that girl. He knew nothing about her except that she was a thief. He also knew that there was something he liked about her, something that would make him storm out of the school in the middle of class to help her from getting caught by the police. But then he thought about Gwen and the way she made him feel. It was more than he could have asked for and certainly more than what the Black Cat could possibly give him. And why would he even want anything at all from her? He had already saved her once and she thanked him by leaving him alone on a rooftop without a single word. Even if it was all a game for her why would she deserve his help again?

As Peter rationalized he came to the conclusion that this strange affection he felt for the Black Cat wasn't enough by itself. He knew he shouldn't interfere if he wanted to stick to his principles. And he didn't want to give them up for small selfish reasons.

Somewhere deep in the back of his mind Peter had a feeling that he might regret his decision but that thought didn't reach the surface and he just followed the police cars with his look wondering whether he would see the Black Cat again.

* * *

Peter checked his watch to see it was 6:19 PM. He had been standing at the corner he would be meeting Flash for about twenty minutes but Flash was nowhere. Peter was sure Flash hadn't forgotten but what could have happened then? From the way Flash talked about Spiderman Peter was sure he wouldn't want to miss this opportunity. And besides, it was Flash who wanted this meeting in the first place. Peter sighed tiredly and sank his hands in the pockets of his jacket and started tapping his foot against the pavement to entertain himself and to draw his attention from the very low temperature.

Finally after another couple of minutes Flash arrived running at the corner of the street.

"Sorry, I'm late, something came up." He said trying to catch his breath. Peter didn't want to guess exactly how long Flash could have been running but if he had had to it would have been a very high number of minutes.

"It's alright." Peter said although waiting in the cold really wasn't alright.

"Is he here, yet?" Flash asked, his breathing still not quite even.

"No, he's not." Peter answered then added as a short explanation, "he's probably helping with a store robbery or something."

"Yeah. He does that." Flash laughed and looked up toward the ledge of the building to make sure Spiderman wasn't there. "So, I guess we'll have to wait." He turned back to Peter with a stressful look which Peter knew wasn't at all that stressful.

They stood in an uncomfortable silence, Peter hoping for Gwen to finally call. They agreed that she would call at 6:30 to make sure Peter and Flash had met but there were still about eight minutes left and each second passed painfully slowly.

"So, who was that girl I saw you with this morning?" Peter asked to start a conversation.

Flash's cheeks slightly turned red at Peter's question. "Oh, yeah. She's Liz. She was transferred to our school this year."

"Really? That explains why I haven't seen her for the past three years. How do you know her?" Peter kept asking as the subject turned out to be more interesting than he had thought.

"She came to congratulate after the game yesterday. I was totally surprised, I mean I didn't know who she was but she obviously knew who I was."

_Where's the bully I knew? _Peter wondered as he saw how excited Flash had gotten talking about Liz. He hadn't seen the sensitive side of Flash Thompson, if there was one anyway.

"Do you like her?" Peter cut to the chase.

Flash smiled nervously as he answered. "I don't know. I've only known her for a day it's pretty hard to say, yet."

"But she's pretty, as far as I can tell." Peter smiled, trying to make Flash confess.

"Hell, yes," came Flash's immediate answer.

"Go for it, then." Peter encouraged him and patted Flash's shoulder. "Nothing to lose."

"I know, alright?" Flash said somewhat offensively.

"Fine, just sayin'." Peter lifted his hands defensively. He was about to continue telling Flash that it was his choice and he must do whatever he feels right when the cell in his pocket started to ring.

_Finally.  
_

Peter reached in his pocket and took his phone out.

"I'm sorry, I got to take this." He said to Flash and slid his finger across the screen.

"Hi, Gwen." He said pretending he wasn't expecting her call.

"Hi. Can you come over?" Gwen asked faking sobs. She felt bad about taking Flash in but that was what they agreed on with Peter so she played her role.

"Why? No, I don't think so, right now. What happened?" Peter stammered. He was glad this was only a setup because Gwen's acting was top performance.

"I can't tell over the phone. Please. I need to see you." Her voice was so desperate that Peter didn't want to think about how he would feel if it were a real situation.

"Ok, calm down. I'm coming." Peter said and ended the call and turned to Flash.

"I'm very sorry, but Gwen just called. Something happened, I don't know what but she asked me to go over. Would you mind if I left you here? You can climb to the roof and wait there, I'm sure Spiderman will find you."

"Yeah, sure, go. I'll be fine." Flash agreed. He seemed to have bought the story. It was quite easy but Peter hoped it had worked.

"Thanks. And sorry, again." Peter said apologetically and left hurriedly.

When he had gotten far enough for Flash to not see him he ducked into an alley. He took off his pants and jacket but before he pulled on his mask he quickly texted Gwen, thanking her the help. Then he carefully placed his phone in the pocket of his jacket so that the passersby wouldn't be able to spy it. He put on the mask and jumped in the air, slung two threads of biocable onto the ledge of the building above and propelled himself toward the top.

He landed on the snowy rooftop and shot out toward the opposite end, gathering the momentum for a jump. He pushed himself off of the roof, into the air and swung into another alley, perpendicular to the one he left from. When he reached the block Flash was waiting for him he held on to the web and let the momentum take him up into the air above the rooftop. When he had reached the peak of the swing he let go of the web and let gravity pull him back toward the roof. He landed silently and then casually erected from his crouch and walked to Flash.

"Flash Thompson, I assume." Peter said and reached out a hand. He tried to use a different tone of voice so his identity wouldn't be too obvious.

"That's right. Nice to finally meet you." Flash answered, unable to completely hide his excitement and shook Spiderman's hand.

"You too. Sorry I'm late but someone has to stop rapists these days." Peter joked. He felt a bit awkward, like an adult talking to a little child. He wasn't sure what he should say or how he should act. The whole situation seemed less difficult when he imagined it earlier but now that they actually were talking on the rooftop it all just felt out of place.

A couple seconds of silence settled on the two of them until Flash spoke. "Can I ask you a question?"

"Sure." Peter nodded. "But why don't we sit down beforehand?" He asked, pointing at the ledge.

"Okay." Flash agreed.

They walked to the edge of the roof and sat down, hanging their feet in the air.

"What made you decide to fight crime?" Flash asked, staring at the small moving dots on the streets below. The question was direct, something that Flash felt was important to ask.

It wasn't though what Peter was expecting. He thought Flash would ask something an average person would, for example how he got his abilities, how he made his webbing or his suit or another bunch of things but Flash had once again proven to Peter that he wasn't the guy everyone thought him to be.

"Well, it was pretty complex." Peter tried to avoid answering. He really didn't want to tell Flash about one of the greatest tragedies in his life as the wound was too fresh and easy to tear. Still, he knew that he needed to say something.

"There was a very smart person who told me that if I could do good things for others I had an obligation to do those things. I guess that was what motivated me." Peter answered and he was glad that he didn't have to completely lie to leave out the sensitive parts.

"I agree with that. But not too many people these days do." Flash answered sadly as if it was his fault.

"Not too many have superpowers either." Peter kept joking. He tried to create a personality for Spiderman that didn't match Peter Parker's.

"Well, most don't." Flash laughed. "But that's not what makes a hero, is it?"

Peter seriously wanted to ask Flash why he couldn't act like a mature person in school. He was sure it would work.

"Well, I'm not sure I would have become Spiderman if I hadn't gotten these powers." Peter admitted and for a moment he wondered what his life would have been like if that spider hadn't bitten him.

"What do you think your life would have been like?" Flash asked as if he were reading Peter's mind.

Flash's last words got lost in the noise of a sudden huge explosion that shook the building. It wasn't coming from anywhere near but it was still loud enough for them to hear. Peter quickly got up and turned to look if he could see the smoke that would indicate the place of the detonation. For a couple of seconds there were no signs of the explosion but then, as Peter was expecting, black smoke started to rise to his right at least ten blocks away. Darkness had already descended to the city but the street lights and the moon and maybe Peter's arachnid abilities made it possible for the smoke to be seen.

Flash got up slowly after Peter and looked it the same direction searching for the signs of the fire.

"Do you see anything?" Flash asked, his eyes not as good as Peter's.

"I must go now." Peter said, ignoring Flash's question and took a step forward on the ledge getting ready to jump.

"Wait." Flash called after him while he still had the chance.

Peter stopped and turned back to see what he wanted.

"Spiderman. Where did the name come from?"

Peter smiled under his mask at the question.

"My girlfriend's idea." Peter laughed and remembered that night on the rooftop with Gwen.

"You have a girlfriend?" Flash asked disbelieving as if it was impossible for a superhero to date someone.

"Sure." Peter answered casually. "I'm just a simple dude under the mask."

With that Peter leaped off of the ledge leaving Flash alone on the rooftop. Only after a couple of seconds did Peter realize that the explosion had drew his attention so much that for the last sentence he told Flash he forgot to change his voice.

* * *

Sorry, guys, it took so long to update, again. I've just been enjoying my Christmas holiday too much, it seems. Visiting my every relative pretty much took up my last week so I didn't have too much time to write. But now that I have received all of my presents I was finally able to finish up this chapter. And as much as I hate to admit, I needed a little help with this one from one of my dearest friends so you should thank her as well for this chapter. How did you like it? If you have anything to add, comment on please leave a review. Those definitely make me happy, especially around Christmas. :))  
How is your holiday? What do you pass time with? Is there snow where you live cause unfortunately here it has already melted due to the relatively high temperature?  
I probably won't get to update until 2013, so HAPPY NEW YEAR TO YOU ALL! :)) Been a pleasure having you here with this story, and I hope you'll keep it up next year as well. :)


	17. Chapter Seventeen

It wasn't hard for Peter to spot the deep sky blue flames in the black of the night. As Peter approached the silhouettes of Mysterio's black suit slightly started to separate from its environment. The dark figure raised his arms as a friendly gesture to welcome Spiderman but Peter didn't have to see the man's face to feel the evil grin forming on his features.

"Just a minute and I'll be yours." Peter said offhandedly when he was sure he had come in earshot.

He ducked down toward the street not giving Mysterio a chance to make a comment. He landed on the sidewalk and looked back up to the burning part of the building.

The windows were broken, small fragments of glass scattered all around the concrete and orange flames broke out through the empty frames like prisoners aggressively reaching out between the bars of their cells, praying for someone to take their hands and free them from their misery.

Some people in the street gathered around the building, curiously watching the floors in flames while others tried to get as far from the accident as possible. Peter could easily tell who had just escaped from the building by the patches of smoke on their skin and the terrified looks on their faces.

"Is anyone still inside?" Peter turned to the ones who were standing closest to him.

A few heads turned as the residents checked if everyone had made it out.

"Everyone's here." A woman said visibly relieved after she and a middle aged man behind her had done the count.

"Good. Stay here, the fire department will be here any minute." Peter gave instructions and using two webs as a slingshot he propelled himself toward the rooftop where he hoped Mysterio was still waiting for him. Peter was glad to see that he was.

"Sorry, just had to make sure nobody got hurt in the fire which _you_ obviously made." Peter started in his usual sarcastic Spidey sense of humor.

"It's not very nice to make such serious accusations." Mysterio answered calmly, then added. "Although this time you may be right."

"Of course I'm right." Peter lifted his hands as if it was the most evident statement in the world. "But I've just been wondering," he continued and his voice turned serious, "what is up with you blowing up everything?"

"You see, Spiderman, I needed to make sure you would come. And a fire putting several people's lives in danger seemed a suitable way to lure you here."

"Sorry, what was your name, again? Missouri?" Peter joked cheerfully as if he weren't facing New York's currently most dangerous villain on the rooftop of a burning building. He ignored what Mysterio was saying on purpose, trying to hold his attention until the cops got there.

"Your unprecedented sense of humor really impresses me," came the answer from the mouth surrounded by the blue aura but Mysterio's tone of voice revealed the exact opposite.

"So, Missouri, wha-" Peter started, mocking the black suited man's name, attempting to piss him off. He enjoyed making fun of the bad guys who took themselves way too seriously.

"It's Mysterio!" He interrupted now in a more angry manner.

"Oh, right!" Peter clapped his hands together as fake realization dawned on him. "You know they sound quite alike and it makes them easy to confuse."

"Hasn't anybody told you that you talk too much?" Mysterio asked as he took a step forward as a sign of warning. The distance between them was now only a couple of feet and with one more step from either of them they would become in arm's reach.

"Did you know that your head was on fire?" Peter kept provoking his enemy as he found a single step forward not too threatening all by itself. It was quite strange that it was Mysterio who wanted him to come here and yet he did nothing but trying to answer his stupid remarks and empty words.

"You're starting to get on my nerves." Mysterio hissed and threateningly balled his fists.

"Aren't you going to do something about it?" Peter knew that this question was like an invitation to dance and he slightly bent his knees and prepared himself so that he could react to any of Mysterio's unexpected moves.

"I am doing something about that, right now."

Peter didn't understand what he meant by that as the man still didn't try to attack him. The whole situation was getting suspicious. Something was surely out of place.

"I don't see that you are." It was now Peter who was starting to lose his patience.

"Believe me, I am."

Peter knew there would be no point arguing as the man was totally crazy. The sound of sirens down the street indicated that the police and the fire department have both arrived.

"Why don't you just come with me and you'll tell everything to the police. I'm sure they will be glad to listen to the confession of a crazy pyromaniac." Peter had finally had enough of their pointless conversation and he closed the gap between the two of them but when he attempted to grab the arm of the black suit the man disappeared in a blink of an eye and the only thing Peter's hand caught was the air.

_What the hell?  
_

Peter looked at his empty palm and then back in front of him but his eyes weren't playing tricks, Mysterio had really vanished.

"You didn't see that coming, did you?" Peter heard the satisfied voice from behind his back and he spun around to see the man standing at the very spot he was a second ago.

"How did you just do that?" Peter asked with complete disbelief in his voice. He had a feeling that he had better take this man seriously.

"Oh, there's a lot more from where this came from." The man said mysteriously and it was the moment when the origin of his name finally became clear to Peter. Whoever this man was he was going to have trouble bringing him to the cops.

Peter shot out toward the man and drove his fist to his head but Mysterio remained still and to Peter's greatest surprise his hand went _through _the blue blaze where the man's head was supposed to be as if it were nothing more than his pure imagination. Peter looked back to see as the man slowly turned around toward him with the exact same evil smile on his face Peter imagined earlier. He needed a few moments to comprehend the seemingly inexplicable events of the past minute. He knew that it was theoretically possible to project things as holograms but the method of execution was still unknown. At least he thought it was unknown because apparently someone managed to do it quite successfully. Peter saw that there would be no point trying to hit him again but luckily there was no way a hologram could hit him either.

"What's the whole point?" Peter asked with a demanding voice. He really had no idea what someone would want to achieve by projecting his hologram that couldn't practically do anything to hurt him.

"The point is," Mysterio began as satisfaction settled on his features, "that while you're wasting your time on this rooftop trying to fight someone who you can't possibly defeat, another explosive that I have hidden somewhere near Times Square is about to explode. And you can do nothing about it."

"But what's point in that?" Peter yelled as he couldn't contain his anger, desperation and helplessness anymore. It was hard to restrain himself when a psychopathic maniac was playing with him as he pleased as if he were nothing more than a puppet on the end of the strings.

"That's simple," came the cold answer. "To show how pathetic and stupid you are thinking that you can make a world better all by yourself. To make you realize that no one needs you. Just look down to the streets. The police would arrest you the moment they knew you were here and they would put you behind bars without a second's thought."

Peter didn't get a chance to say anything as the bomb Mysterio was talking about exploded. He immediately turned in the direction of the sound, ready to go but he couldn't see any signs of the explosion in the dark. As much as he could tell the detonation really came from the direction of Midtown Manhattan but it was too far for Peter to determine its exact location. He had to admit that even if he found out where that bomb went off it would be too late. It already was too late.

Even with his arachnid abilities Peter was powerless, he felt like the things he could keep under control were now taken from him. He remembered the same feeling back when he was kneeling on the cold concrete beside the dead body of his uncle. He remembered as he pressed his hands against the wound, trying to stop the bleeding even if he knew that anything he could have done would have been useless.

"This is just the beginning." Peter heard the irritating voice from behind him. He could hear in his tone that Mysterio knew that he was suffering inside and it gave him some unexplainable satisfaction. Peter could feel his pulse rise and every single muscle clenched in his body as the sudden rush of adrenaline clouded his mind.

"You son of a bitch!" Peter yelled and spun around trying to hit Mysterio wherever he could reach him. He didn't think, he just let his anger and hatred for this man take over his body and he only realized that he was trying to punch a hologram when his fists once again hit the air and he fell to the ground not being able to keep his balance.

This made Peter come to his senses and he had to admit that he had no chance against someone who wasn't physically there. He slowly got to his feet with the bitterness of defeat in his mouth and turned around to take one more look at the man who he had just sworn to kill but the black suit and the man with the neck brace projecting blue flames around his head wasn't on the rooftop anymore. He was left alone with the noise of sirens and water spouting on the building as the firemen kept trying to put out the fire.

Peter's muscles relaxed, he knew that it was over. His breathing was still heavy and uneven as a result of the mental stress of the past minutes so he pulled his mask off and took a deep breath of the chilly air. He walked to the ledge and cast another glance in the direction of the explosion but he still couldn't anything.

He stood there frozen like a statue for almost a minute unsure of what he should do next. He tried to push his feelings aside and think clear-headed even if it was hard in that situation. He tried to relax but he knew it wasn't just going to go away. He needed to take out his anger on somebody and there was no better way to do it than kicking some bad guys' asses. There were plenty of them running around at night in Manhattan so it shouldn't be a problem to find a car thief or a shoplifter or a mugger. It was just what he needed so he didn't think further until he would talk himself out of it by some excuse.

He put his mask back on and back up a few paces, preparing to lung himself into the air when he heard something crack under his feet. He lifted his foot and checked what he stepped on and it surely wasn't what he expected.

Peter assumed the shattered object that was lying in the dust was cube shaped before he stepped on it. It wasn't much bigger than a dice and because of its black color it blended perfectly in its environment and Peter would almost surely never have spotted it. What really caught his attention and made him forget that a moment before he was about to set off into the night was the pale, almost imperceptible glowing white light on every side of the small object. Peter crouched and picked it up and as he examined it it turned out to be some kind of electronic device.

It wasn't really hard to put two and two together. Since small, high-tech gadgets usually couldn't be found on every rooftop in Manhattan Peter had a very good reason to believe that the device belonged to Mysterio. It would be a perfect explanation how he could project his hologram onto the rooftop. Peter knew that if he could somehow track down the device and find out who it belonged to it would be a major step toward unmasking Mysterio. Even the simple thought of it gave him an extra amount of determination. The only thing he wanted now was revenge.

* * *

Peter entered the house through the front door, something he didn't usually do after having been out in the city as Spiderman. He was too afraid that his aunt would be suspicious and would somehow find his suit in his backpack but tonight he didn't care. Aunt May was already looking in the direction of the hall when Peter entered the living room.

"Where have you been?" Aunt May asked as she turned down the volume on the TV, looking strictly at Peter.

"Hanging out with Flash." Peter answered impassively and threw his backpack to the couch beside Aunt May as he headed for the kitchen. He wanted to forget about everything that happened earlier in that evening.

"Flash Thompson?"

"Yeah, why?" Peter asked as he returned to the living room with a bar of Snickers in his hand.

"I thought you guys didn't get along too well." Aunt May said a bit surprised.

"It's different now." Peter gave a brief answer and hopped down on the couch.

"That's really good to hear. What changed?" Peter's aunt asked curiously, not quite noticing that Peter wasn't in the mood for chatting.

"I'm not sure myself. I guess that me being on the-wait, turn it up." Peter stopped in mid-sentence and pointed at the TV where the news the anchor presented caught his attention.

Aunt May turned toward the screen where the text read, _Thirty-six died in Times Square explosion, at least fifty injured_.

She reached for the remote and did as Peter asked.

"_...the detonation that occurred at one of New York's busiest intersection killed thirty-six people, adults and children as well. The more than fifty injured were taken to the New York Downtown Hospital where they received immediate treatment. The police are already investigating the case but the culprit and his motives have yet remained unknown."  
_

When the anchor finished the screen switched to the scene of the explosion and they began broadcasting previously recorded interviews with some people involved in the incident.

"_It came unexpected." _A man in his thirties began. "_I was headed toward 42nd street when the explosion happened only about a couple hundred meters from me. For a moment I thought I was going to die. I guess I'm lucky to be still alive."  
_

"_I just left him alone for one minute." _Another woman stuttered with teary eyes. He was probably in his early thirties but his grievous expression added another ten years to his age. "_He didn't want to wait in line at the McDonald's so I told him to go outside. God, he was only nine." _She couldn't help another sob escape her lips as her painful look turned to her feet. When she looked back into the camera a whole new expression had settled on her face. Her look didn't reflect sorrow anymore but fury. She wiped away another tear before she spoke. "_I hope you're watching this, Spiderman, whoever you might be because this is your fault. You shouldn't have let this happen. My son is dead because of you and for this I'll never forgive."  
_

Peter knew that the woman was only speaking out of torment and anger she felt. She was only looking for someone to blame for her loss and Peter understood that. But as much as he would have liked to deny it was indirectly his fault that those people died. He couldn't have possibly prevented the detonation but still he was the reason that it happened. He couldn't look into the eyes of the woman knowing that _he_ had caused the misery she was feeling.

Peter suddenly stood up and grabbing his backpack he stormed upstairs, into his room. He didn't want to waste another second. He fell into his chair and placed Mysterio's device on his desk. He opened the browser and typed _holographic projector_ in the search engine.

He clicked on the first few results but those were only articles about what the term meant and Peter could find nothing similar to the one on his desk. He went back to the search results and scrolled down to the bottom and was about to click to the second page when he noticed a title that had so far avoided his attention.

_3D holographic projector makes major breakthrough in the special effects industry  
_

He drove the cursor on the link when he saw the screen of his cell light up next to him and the familiar buzzing warned him of an incoming call. He wanted to keep his focus on the task so he only cast a quick glance at his phone to see that it was Gwen calling.

"Not a good time." Peter muttered almost inaudibly and after a second of hesitation he decided to postpone the conversation and he pressed the decline button on the screen. Whatever she wanted was surely not that important and they could talk about it in school next day anyway. _  
_

Peter returned to the computer screen and when he clicked on the link it took him to the site of a news agency where he could find the whole article on the invention. The post was made two and a half months earlier but Peter spotted something that kept him from leaving the page. It was an illustration of a device similar to the one lying on his desk, embedded in the article.

Peter felt he was on the right track so he quickly ran through the text trying to filter the keywords and about halfway through his mouth dropped open.

_Inventor of the holographic projector device, Quentin Beck (33) who works as a special effects designer at Wonder Studios says...  
_

_Quentin Beck  
_

Suddenly everything became clear to Peter. Beck broke in to office to steal his plans because he needed them to create Mysterio. He must have believed he was a basic member at the firm so when they fired him he just couldn't take it. Something must have broken inside and he created Mysterio, a criminal who would get the attention he thought he deserved.

"I got you now." Peter hissed between his teeth and clenched his fist with the projector in it, crushing it into even smaller pieces.

* * *

**So, my fellow Spiderman fans, here I am with the next chapter of the story. No more words a needed I guess. I hope you liked this one as well. If you did please let me know. I would be really glad to see some of your reviews. Cheers. :)**


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